UK's draft EU deal: What do red and yellow cards mean?

Press quote (BBC News)
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
02 February 2016

An orange-card procedure also exists, but has not been used yet. If a majority of national parliaments jointly oppose a draft law, the commission has to review it. The failure to use the orange card shows that national MPs are focused on national interests, and "struggle to find a common stance on European issues", Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the CER told the BBC. ...The red card "could ensure that EU institutions listen more to national parliaments' concerns", Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowskasaid. But using the card system also requires MPs to spend more time examining European issues, she said. "They usually prefer to look at domestic issues, which affect voters directly," she added.