Not for the first time, an EU commission president has broached the desirability of doing away with the unanimity rule that limits much of EU decision-making on foreign policy. It is, Ursula von der Leyen told ambassadors from member states on Monday, a “hindrance” that undermines the union’s credibility on the international stage.
Her unspoken target, undoubtedly, is Hungary, which has sought repeatedly, with some success, to thwart otherwise unanimous EU decisions to assist Ukraine or sanction Russia. Creative means to circumvent Viktor Orban’s obstructionism have allowed the union to press ahead with difficulty.
Yet, while member states share much of the commission president’s frustration, her call for procedural reform will fall on deaf ears. Many member states, Ireland included, retain an attachment to the last resort of the veto to protect what they see as vital national interests. It is, they say, a key part of the union’s institutional balance between member states and the commission.
There is also the not-insignificant matter of von der Leyen’s timing. There is growing concern at what is seen as the president’s gradual encroachment into the foreign policy arena, supposedly the prerogative of the Council of Ministers representing member states, and the high representative for foreign and security policy, Kaja Kallas.
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On a number of occasions in recent years, without seeking the authority of the council, von der Leyen has articulated a personal view on foreign policy issues at odds with many member states. On Gaza she appeared to give carte blanche to Israel. By sending a commissioner to attend the first meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace she seemed to give it the EU’s imprimatur despite a boycott by most member states. Last week she appeared to endorse regime change and the attack on Iran when she called for a “credible transition” in Tehran.
Von der Leyen, echoing Trump’s rationale for unrestrained exercise of power, said Europe could no longer be “a custodian for the old world order” or rely on the rules-based system as the only way to defend its interests. It was a clear departure from the EU’s commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based order. And she declined to criticise the US-Israeli action or suggest it was in breach of international law.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot, in a sharp rebuke that will have echoed the sentiments of many present, told the ambassadors the commission should “restrict itself to the strictest respect of subsidiarity, of the letter and the spirit of the treaty”.
The commission is often frustrated by the slow-moving struggle for consensus. But member states will not be reassured, nor reform facilitated, by a go-it-alone commission president.
