Josep Borrel, head of EU diplomacy, spoke at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday stating that Europe should develop a desire to act.
“Europe must learn to speak the language of power. Many people think that this is military force, yes, but not only, ” he said. “Europe should develop an appetite for strength, a desire to act, and not just say every day that “ we are worried, ” “ we are very worried, ” “ we are extremely concerned. ” We must be able to act. ”
According to Borrel, the next meeting of foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states, which will be held on February 17, will show whether the EU can act. “We’ll see on Monday whether we can act,” he said. The agenda of the meeting of the EU Council on February 17 is the conflict in Syria, the situation in Libya, as well as the Middle East settlement.
Borrell believes that Brussels should abandon the principle of unanimity in decision-making.
“We need to gradually take steps towards abandoning the principle of unanimity. For example, if 25 countries are in favor, then they should be able to make a decision. Otherwise, paralysis will occur, ” he said.
Borrel announced his position, which implies the abolition of the principle of unanimity during the adoption of certain decisions, during hearings in the European Parliament in October 2019, even before he was approved for the post of head of EU diplomacy.
Currently, the adoption of any decision in the EU requires the unanimity of all 27 countries – members of the community, in connection with which the process often drags on for months, and sometimes for years.