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- October 20, 202614°
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11 EU countries propose limits on foreign-policy vetoes
Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden proposed five principles to prevent the use of vetoes from obstructing decision-making on the EU’s foreign-policy and security decisions. The countries called for more frequent use of constructive abstention, urged that unrelated issues not be used to block decisions and requested detailed explanations of national policy grounds.
A position paper aimed at limiting the use of vetoes in the EU’s foreign-policy and security decisions was sent by 11 member states to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and the other member states.
The document, prepared by Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden, was submitted ahead of Wednesday’s informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. It sets out five principles to make decision-making on foreign-policy and security issues more effective within the bloc.
Constructive abstention to prevent a single-country veto
The document proposed that the EU make more frequent use of constructive abstention to prevent a single member state from halting the decision-making process.
Referring also to the principle of sincere cooperation in the EU treaties, the 11 countries called on member states not to block decisions by linking them to issues unrelated to the matter at hand. They also called for objections to only specific parts of a proposal not to be used in a way that would prevent the EU from taking a decision as a whole.
Reasons for objections to be explained in detail
The position paper called on Kallas to examine the options provided by the EU treaties for improving decision-making in the areas of foreign policy and security. It envisaged work to enable the high representative to prepare proposals in line with the treaties.
The document also addressed the right of member states to object to foreign-policy or security decisions voted on by qualified majority on the basis of vital and stated national-policy reasons. The 11 countries said that setting out these reasons in detail would facilitate meaningful consultations and help find solutions acceptable to all members.
The document was also sent to the foreign ministers of the EU members that were not among the 11 countries. The distribution list included Bulgaria, Croatia, the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia.
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