Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

You have a veto in deciding to go to qualified majority voting.

What is clear is that whenever unanimity is required, whatever the issue, it is almost impossible to attain because even if there were no objections on the issue, there is always the temptation for one member state for which the issue is not of paramount importance to retain its "yes" vote, to negotiate on some other completely different issue with other member states for which this issue is more important. Unanimity is very difficult to obtain when there are 28, or now 27, members around the table. It can be obtained on the issue of corporate taxation after all the scandals and under the pressure of public opinion. If we cannot obtain it in the framework of the 27 member states, the fallback position could be enhanced co-operation. The so-called Passarelle clause, if that is the clause to which the member referred, is somewhat theoretical. We introduced this clause in the treaty to take on board the concerns of some federalists who were disappointed not to have imposed qualified majority voting on all issues. I can imagine a situation where suddenly, a member state which opposes the content of a document would agree to drop its right to veto, so the question is somewhat theoretical.