(de-news.net) – After Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU), European politician Manfred Weber (CSU) has advocated replacing the EU’s unanimity principle in foreign and security policy with qualified majority voting to enhance decision-making, while Anton Hofreiter warns that such a reform is politically unrealistic and therefore proposes a modified collective veto.
Weber questioned the unanimity principle of the European Union following remarks by Wadephul, arguing that the bloc’s capacity to act is increasingly being constrained at a moment marked by heightened geopolitical volatility. In Weber’s assessment, a decision-making framework that enables individual member states to veto or delay collective action risks undermining Europe’s strategic coherence, thereby rendering it less effective and more vulnerable to external pressure and influence.
Wadephul pushes for qualified majority voting to counter EU deadlocks
Wadephul had advocated replacing unanimity with qualified majority voting in the field of foreign and security policy, pointing to recent disputes over sanctions against Russia and military assistance to Ukraine as evidence of the structural shortcomings inherent in consensus-based procedures. In particular, a proposed 90-billion-euro EU loan package intended to support Ukraine has been delayed as a result of sustained obstruction by Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. At the same time, Berlin has indicated that it will maintain cooperative relations with any democratically elected Hungarian government, even as the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12 introduce uncertainty regarding Orbán’s continued tenure, given the opposition’s polling advantage under Péter Magyar.
The German foreign minister further emphasized that the EU’s position as the world’s largest integrated economic area necessitates a commensurate degree of political effectiveness, which, in his view, is fundamentally incompatible with recurring veto-induced paralysis. He additionally reaffirmed Germany’s commitment to sustained support for Ukraine, noting that assurances had been conveyed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Berlin would continue to serve as a principal contributor to Kyiv’s defense and reconstruction efforts.
Weber endorsed Wadephul’s initiative and framed recent crises as illustrative of the EU’s potential to exert meaningful influence when acting in a unified and decisive manner. On this basis, he characterized institutional reform as both necessary and time-sensitive, while also underscoring Germany’s responsibility to assume a proactive leadership role within the European framework.
Hofreiter proposes collective veto to balance efficiency and member rights
On his part, Anton Hofreiter (Greens) articulated reservations, arguing that the abolition of unanimity is politically impracticable, not least because such a reform would itself require unanimous agreement among member states. He further contended that smaller countries would be unlikely to accept any diminution of their veto rights, even where they broadly support European integration.
As an alternative designed to reconcile efficiency with inclusivity, Hofreiter proposed a modified mechanism under which veto power would be preserved but could only be exercised collectively by a minimum of four member states, thereby seeking to mitigate unilateral obstruction while retaining safeguards for minority interests.
Audio: TTSFree
