The enhanced cooperation

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For this regulation on the unitary patent, ministers of Member States have decided to legislate, not among 27, but only among the 25 participating Member states. This is called an enhanced cooperation. This procedure is allowed by the EU Treaties in order to limit risks of blocking when a consensus cannot be reached between all Member States. Hence, in a usual codecision procedure, a directive shall be voted by the European Parliament on one side, and by a majority – or the unanimity, according to the topic — of the ministers of all 27 Member States one the other side.In the enhanced cooperation framework, the directive shall still be voted by the Parliament, but only ministers of the countries participating to the enhanced cooperation shall agree on the text.