The study shows that the driving force behind negotiations in the Council is much less the search for a general agreement than for a qualified majority, that the Council Presidency uses as a weapon of dissuasion towards negotiators who fear ending up in a minority. The latter tend to rally to the majority, what explains the low opposition and abstention rate pointed in the minutes of the Council meetings. The publication of votes from 1993 has not put paid to this strategy because of the role played by the Council preparatory committees that decide behind closed doors. The role of national parliaments to control their governments and improved transparency of the debates and votes within the Council could yet have a stronger impact on the practice of qualified majority voting.