Individual states should be unable to block EU decisions: Berlin

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The European Union can no longer bear the burden of having its decisions blocked by individual member states, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday.

"Qualified majority voting can lead to fairer...results for all of us," Baerbock said during a conference in Lisbon, Portugal. "We must be capable of acting efficiently and swiftly."

Baerbock said that EU countries are often not even able to draft a press release "because they cannot agree on the same wording."

The top German diplomat touched on how EU countries are not even able to draft a press release often due to the fact that "they cannot agree on the same wording."

This comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said back in July that the European Union could no longer afford national vetoes, for they were taking away from the European Union's power to make decisions on its security and foreign policies.

"We simply can no longer afford national vetoes, for example in foreign policy, if we want to continue to be heard in a world of competing great powers," he stressed.

He reiterated his assertions a month later, highlighting in late August the need for reforms in the European Union.

He urged the EU to lessen its "one-sided dependence," whether they be in the areas of the economy, energy, or defense, and called for a "geopolitical, sovereign, and expanding EU." The German chancellor emphasized that he was "dedicated" to the bloc's expansion, and which included the six countries of the western Balkans, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine.

A switch to a "majority voting" method would be necessary as the bloc grew, he argued, in order to avoid slowing down EU decision-making. The Ukraine war is already putting the unanimity system to the test at a time when prompt action is even more important, according to Scholz.

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He said, "Let's seek compromises together," and said that the sanctions policy might be one area where majority voting could be used. Member states also had a third option, which he called "constructive abstention," in addition to the two alternatives of voting "yes" or "no."

However, Scholz called for unanimity when it came to airspace security.

He advocated for a common air defense system saying: "A jointly created air defense system in Europe would not only be cheaper and more effective than if each of us built our own expensive, very complex air defense system. It would be beneficial in terms of security for the whole of Europe."

Scholz further emphasized that it would be a security advantage for the whole of Europe and thus an example of what is meant when referring to fortifying the European side of NATO.

"We have considerable room for improvement in the area of Europe’s defense against threats from air and space. For this reason, Germany is going to significantly invest in air defense. At the same time, Germany will organize this future air defense in a way that our European neighbors can also participate in it if they want to. For instance, Poles, Balts, Dutch, Czechs, Slovaks, or our Scandinavian partners," Scholz stressed.