11 EU states push to scrap veto on foreign policy decisions
Eleven European Union member states have sent a letter to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urging a review of moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting on foreign policy. The move follows repeated blocking of EU action through veto use.
A group of eleven European Union member states has sent a joint letter to the bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, calling for a review of veto rights in foreign policy decision-making. The letter was reported by the outlet "European Pravda," citing a document seen by Euronews.
The letter was signed by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden. They call for exploring a shift from unanimous decision-making to qualified majority voting in EU foreign policy.
Consensus versus capacity to act
The letter states that the EU's culture of consensus remains an important source of the bloc's legitimacy, and that the signatories will continue to pursue consensus where possible. However, the countries note that veto rights have repeatedly paralyzed EU foreign policy action in recent years, warning that the consensus culture must not come at the expense of joint action — otherwise the EU would have legitimacy but no power.
The signatories set out five principles meant to guide and improve the bloc's common foreign policy: adhering to genuine cooperation and mutual solidarity, increasing the use of constructive abstention instead of vetoes, refraining from linking foreign policy decisions to issues "not substantially related" to them, exploring options under EU treaties for moving to qualified majority voting, and requiring "well-founded, weighty reasons" for blocking such a shift.
Unanimity rule and Hungary
Under current EU rules, foreign policy decisions are strictly governed by unanimity, meaning a single member state can tie the hands of the other 26. This pattern has recurred repeatedly during the 16-year tenure of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The idea of using the so-called "passerelle clause" under Article 31 to shift from unanimity to qualified majority voting has long been debated in Brussels, and the discussion has gained urgency since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Such a shift could be applied on a case-by-case basis rather than across all issues at once. The clause carries a built-in paradox, since switching away from unanimity itself requires unanimous approval, meaning opponents could in theory block the change.
In July, the party of Ireland's prime minister, Fianna Fáil, said that during Ireland's upcoming six-month presidency of the EU Council, work should begin on abolishing the foreign policy veto. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also said the EU should draw lessons from Hungary's conduct under Orbán and move toward qualified majority voting on foreign policy to prevent systemic blockages.
