Germany calls for abolition of ‘paralysing’ EU member states foreign policy veto
Jun 8, 2021
photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka//DPA via AP
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday called on the European Union to abolish individual member states’ veto power on foreign policy.
“We can no longer be held hostage by those who paralyse European foreign policy with their vetoes. Those who do so are playing with Europe’s cohesion in the longer or shorter term,” Maas told a press conference in Berlin.
“I therefore say it openly: the veto must disappear, even if it means that we can be outvoted,” the diplomatic chief explained.
Under EU rules, certain decisions, such as on taxation or foreign policy issues, require unanimity among member states.
This system means that one country can use its veto to block, delay or soften European positions.
“Because we have always considered internal solidarity and external sovereignty as two sides of the same coin, we must now, after the internal crises, make further progress in Europe’s capacity to act in foreign policy matters,” Maas pleaded.
Continue reading at www.euronews.com
