European Green politician Anton Hofreiter has labeled the demand by Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) to abolish the EU’s unanimity principle in foreign policy as “naive”. Speaking to the Funke media group, the chair of the European Committee in the Bundestag added that any end to this principle would also require unanimous agreement. “And the notion that everything will henceforth be decided by qualified majorities is naive. Even small countries, even pro-European ones, would never agree to that”. Previously, Wadephul had stated, “In order to be a capable actor internationally, to really become an adult, we should abolish the principle of unanimity in foreign and security policy in the EU”. Instead, he advocated for a system of qualified majorities. He added that recent experiences, such as providing aid to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia, support this view, particularly when considering Hungary’s tendency to block decisions. Hofreiter, however, proposed an alternative reform to the unanimity principle: “The veto remains, but it would only apply if at least four countries exercised their veto on the same issue”.
Hofreiter Calls Outcalling EU Veto Rule Call Naive
