What is the consent procedure?

The consent procedure is a decision-making process in the EU whereby the EU Council must seek the consent of the European Parliament. Most decision-making in the EU is done by co-decision where the Council and Parliament decide jointly, but on a few issues, such as member states joining or leaving the EU, international agreements or the EU long term budget, the consent procedure is used instead. Under this procedure, the European Parliament can only either accept or reject proposals, it cannot amend them.