The President of the European People's Party (EPP) and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, stated this Wednesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that he would like to see "one face" in EU foreign policy to strengthen the EU's international role.
Weber made these remarks while participating in an information session organizsd by New Economy Forum in the UE capital, where the European leader was introduced by Dolors Montserrat, Secretary General of the EPP.
The EPP President criticiSed the current EU decision-making structure in foreign policy and stated that "we are not ready for the world we live in today", because in foreign affairs the EU requires unanimity, which leads to the paralysis of the alliance as a global interlocutor. In his opinion, Europeans have been left "speechless" in the international arena and "we have no voice on the global stage".
Weber argued that for the next European elections, an organiSational formula could be proposed that would allow for a unified position, at least on "foreign affairs and trade issues".
ENDING UNANIMITY
In this regard, he criticised France, Germany, and Italy for negotiating in Geneva on the future of Ukraine, when they do not represent all the EU member states. In his view, this tripartite formula "is not Europe".
He stressed that "when there are negotiations on the future of Ukraine and Poland is not at the table", this "is unacceptable". He stated that negotiations by three countries individually can be "a kind of tool because we don't have others", but pointed out that "it's not my Europe" nor "what I believe in".
He cited the EU's slow decision-making as an example, recalling that when Germany's new Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, took office, he was "tough" on Russian President Vladimir Putin and "threatened him with additional sanctions", but then it took "seven months" to achieve unanimity in the European Council on this issue.
Weber also mentioned that the EU's position on Venezuela was "blocked" by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and lamented that the EU is seeking "different formats" for a common stance on every foreign policy issue, even though this is "weakening" the Union internationally.
Finally, he advocated ending the unanimity rule in foreign policy, noting that "on issues like trade, we have a majority decision-making process" and "we are able to offer a single market", while "on foreign affairs, we have unanimity, and that is why we are blocked".
