France and Germany push for faster EU foreign policy decisions via qualified majority voting

Paris and Berlin have thrown their weight behind a call to make EU decision-making on foreign policy and security more efficient, according to a letter seen by POLITICO.

In the letter, addressed to High Representative Kaja Kallas and signed by 11 EU states including France and Germany, the signatories spell out five ways to boost the speed and efficiency of decision-making in common foreign and security policy (CFSP), including potentially increasing the use of qualified majority voting.

Under EU rules, decisions that fall under a CFSP heading must be approved unanimously by all 27 EU countries — a rule that caused major bottlenecks when former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán repeatedly used his veto to block decisions backed by all 26 other capitals.

Germany, in particular, has led calls to move from unanimity voting on CFSP to so-called qualified majority voting (QMV), but France, among other states, has traditionally opposed such a change. The letter opens the door to greater use of QMV without explicitly endorsing any wholesale change in voting methods.

"We continue to strive for consensus wherever possible," reads the letter signed by the foreign ministers of Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain in addition to France and Germany. " But 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 steps outlined in the letter are:

Emphasizing the principle of "sincere cooperation" between EU states — meaning that countries must honor commitments they have made to one another, even if they are not strictly legally binding.

Using "constructive abstentions" rather than outright vetoes, "so as not to prevent the Union from acting."

Banning linkage of "unrelated matters" to an issue being debated — or cracking down on the practice of holding collective decisions hostage by threatening a veto unless the others agree to a separate national demand.

Encouraging the EU's chief diplomat, currently Kaja Kallas, to explore treaty-based options to improve decision-making. The treaty-based option most commonly invoked is the so-called Passerelle clause, which allows the EU to change decision-making rules without changing any treaties — for example, to allow QMV voting on specific foreign and security policy matters.

Emphasizing the need to spell out the reasons why a country invokes its veto rights for "vital and stated reasons of national policy," namely when a decision is taken by qualified majority.

The letter is due to be discussed this week as foreign ministers gather in Wicklow, Ireland for informal talks in the Gymnich format.

Those talks will also explore options for reforming the European External Action Service, the EU diplomatic branch headed by High Representative Kallas.

According to a Franco-German letter seen by POLITICO, options for reforming the EEAS include making Kallas an executive vice president of the European Commission with "de facto" oversight of external-facing policy units as regards trade, development aid and defense; and embedding much of the EEAS's staff inside the Commission in a new department for external relations.

Staff focused on security and defense policy would remain in the EEAS, and the ratio of one-third of EEAS staff being seconded diplomats from EU states would be maintained in this new unit.

The discussion paper also emphasizes the role of EU states in shaping foreign policy, envisaging a formal role for the High Representative to report to EU leaders on foreign policy matters and receive instructions directly from them during European Council gatherings.