Degressive proportionality - source, findings and discussion of the Cambridge Compromise. Mathematical Economics, 2011, Nr 7 (14), s. 39-50
The principle of degressive proportionality in relation to the division of indivisible goods in the past few years – especially since the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon – has been one of the topics frequently appearing in studies of economists, mathematicians, lawyers and people involved in politics. It combines a purely theoretical and easily definable question with a very important practical problem that concerns primarily members of the European Union and countries aspiring to become one. The article shall include a debate and discussion of the findings of the Cambridge Compromise concerning proposals to solve the problem of allocating seats in the European Parliament.
Several methods for degressively proportional allotments. A case study
The term degressively proportional was first introduced, but not defined in the Project of the European Constitution as a rule to distribute the seats of the European Parliament, and continues to be such since then. The aim of degressive proportionality is to allocate to the smaller States more delegates than would correspond to their population and to the bigger states fewer delegates. A definition of degressive proportionality given in 2007 by the Lisbon Intergovernmental Conference may not generally be applicable, since an allotment according to this definition may not exist for a particular composition of the European Parliament. This paper proposes some properties that a reasonable definition of degressive proportionality should possess and offers a comparative analysis of several allocation methods according to such reasonable definitions with application to the European Parliament.
Degressive proportionality in the European Parliament
The division of mandates to the European Parliament posed difficulties since the beginning of its operation. Introduction of the degressive proportionality principle to legal acts intensified further discussion on this subject. The researchers propose different solutions in the form of algorithms or functions on which it is possible to determine the composition of the European Parliament. These solutions may, however, be outdated if the definition of the new is changed.