Germany Calls on EU to Abandon Unanimity in Foreign Policy

(MENAFN) Germany's foreign minister on Saturday urged the European Union to abandon its unanimity requirement in foreign and security policymaking, warning that the bloc must evolve into a more decisive global actor.

"We should abolish the unanimity principle in the EU in foreign and security policy before the end of the current legislative period so as to be better capable of acting internationally and to be truly grown-up," Johann Wadephul said.

In remarks delivered to the Funke Media Group and reported by a news agency, Wadephul pointed to a festering standoff over a major EU-backed financial package for Ukraine as evidence that the current system was failing. He threw his weight behind a shift toward qualified majority voting across all 27 member states as a more workable alternative.

"All the experience that we have gained over recent weeks with aid for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia indicate this," he added.

At the center of the dispute is a €90 billion ($103 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, which Budapest has effectively frozen. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conditioned his country's sign-off on the resumption of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline — a demand Kyiv has flatly rejected. While Hungary alleges that Ukraine deliberately cut off the flow, Ukrainian officials maintain the interruption stems from damage inflicted by a Russian military strike and have pushed back against demands for inspections.

With Hungary heading into a general election on April 12, Wadephul struck a measured tone, affirming that Hungarians alone would determine their next government and that Berlin stood ready to engage with whichever administration emerges.

Orbán, who has helmed Hungary since 2010, has built a reputation as the EU's most persistent dissenter, routinely clashing with fellow member states on matters ranging from Ukraine aid to sanctions policy against Russia.

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