EU considering revoking veto powers for new members – Guardian
Brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy decisions
The EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources.
The idea is reportedly being discussed as Brussels seeks to bring new members in before the end of the decade, while avoiding the kind of internal roadblocks that the likes of Hungary and Slovakia have put up to impede EU military and financial support for Ukraine.
According to the newspaper, the European Commission is now considering a plan under which new entrants would not automatically receive the power to block foreign policy decisions or other matters requiring unanimity, such as taxation. The measure could apply for several years after accession, four EU sources told the outlet.
The proposal to restrict veto rights was reportedly brought up during treaty negotiations with Montenegro, which has been negotiating accession for 14 years and is hoping to become the EU’s 28th member by 2028. It is currently considered the frontrunner among the bloc’s nine official candidate countries.
If the ban is ultimately included, Montenegro’s treaty could later serve as a template for other candidates, the Guardian claimed, noting that the measure is “legally borderline” and would have to be time-limited to avoid creating second-class EU members.
The proposal comes as Brussels has repeatedly struggled to push through major foreign policy decisions, such as a gargantuan €90 billion loan for Kiev, due to the bloc’s built-in unanimity rules, as well as pushback from member states opposed to funding Ukraine’s war effort.
A number of EU officials have since called for abandoning the bloc’s unanimity principles, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stressing that an EU with over 33 members could not continue operating under rules designed for a smaller bloc.
Former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has similarly argued that unanimity has made the bloc irrelevant in international politics, calling for a smaller core group of members to be established that would make decisions on EU policy.
However, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned that abolishing veto rights on fundamental EU issues would be “the beginning of the end” for the bloc.
15 thoughts on “EU considering revoking veto powers for new members – Guardian”
The bigger issue here is however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. That changes the calculation.
The bigger issue here is brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. That changes the calculation.
Reading that brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy — hard to argue with the logic there.
So the bottom line is the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources. Wonder how this will land.
In other words however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. Curious to see how this develops.
On one hand brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. But at the same time the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources.
What stands out is brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. That is the part worth paying attention to.
On one hand however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. But at the same time brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy.
So the bottom line is however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. Wonder how this will land.
Considering the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Considering however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
The EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources. Meanwhile however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty.
The bigger issue here is however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. That changes the calculation.
The bigger issue here is brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. That changes the calculation.
14 years — and that is probably just the official count.
Reading that brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy — hard to argue with the logic there.
So the bottom line is the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources. Wonder how this will land.
In other words however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. Curious to see how this develops.
On one hand brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. But at the same time the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources.
What stands out is brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy. That is the part worth paying attention to.
14 years is hard to ignore, no matter which side you are on.
On one hand however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. But at the same time brussels is reportedly seeking safeguards to prevent future entrants from blocking key foreign policy.
So the bottom line is however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty. Wonder how this will land.
Considering the EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Considering however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
The EU could temporarily deny future member states’ veto rights in order to prevent them from interfering with the bloc’s foreign policy, the Guardian reported on Tuesday, citing EU sources. Meanwhile however, critics of this push have accused Brussels of using the Ukraine conflict and enlargement debate to centralize power at the expense of national sovereignty.
14 years. The real figures are likely much higher.