Countries should abstain rather than block initiatives they do not support
With Viktor Orbán’s veto now gone, a group of EU countries has proposed a plan to avoid a single country’s veto from blocking the pipes in Brussels in future.
Germany is leading a push for a greater use of abstentions and a more creative interpretation of the EU’s treaties, according to a draft letter to Kaja Kallas, seen by Euractiv.
Berlin has long advocated abolishing the principle by which all foreign policy decisions, such as sanctions on Russia, must be decided unanimously by all 27 countries. That irks smaller countries, who see unanimity as a potential lifeline.
“We must also ensure that this culture of consensus fosters common action rather than preventing it, otherwise we will have legitimacy but no strength,” the German letter reads, also supported by the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.
