On the 10th of September a group of Jean Monnet students (EU Values project) visited Tuscany’s regional office in Brussels, where they had the chance to listen to the Spanish former MEP and member of Josep Borrell’s cabinet, Domenèc Ruiz Devesa.
This article has been written by Giulia Capriuli and Leonardo Franklin, students at IIS Machiavelli.
After tracing the evolution of Europe’s foreign and defence policies, starting from the establishment of the European Steel and Coal Community (ECSC) in 1952 and progressing through milestones such as the Treaty of Amsterdam in 2001 and the creation of the High Representative for foreign and security affairs, he finally delved into technicalities of foreign affairs.
The risk of unanimity in the European Union and the dangerous power that an unlimited use of the veto holds, were the main focus of the lecture.
As of now there are 27 Member States in the EU, therefore one country’s veto can overcome 26 other countries’ approval; the biggest example of this is Hungary’s recent non-cooperative policy, which poses an enormous threat to the Union’s normal functioning.
Devesa is determined that, in sight of newer countries joining the Union (in the next decades there could be 37 total members in the EU), a veto limitation reform is necessary for the well-being of Europe’s institutions, if it is not implemented soon, there might be “a total paralysis of the system”.
The veto represents also a substantial obstacle to the expansion of the Union, causing frictions not only within eh Member States but also between EU Members and candidates country, like North Macedonia and Greece relations.
Foreign policy from an Atlantic perspective
On the 12th of September, the same Jean Monnet students visited the NATO HQ in Brussels, where foreign affairs and decision protocols were discussed again.
Silvia Maretti, Program Officer for Italy in the Engagements Section Public Diplomacy Division, introduced the NATO’s political agenda and transatlantic relations highlighting the organisation’s importance in guaranteeing security, safety and defence.
She mainly focused on the fact that, in order to have a competent security for all of the members, the right to an unlimited use of the veto is the only guarantee of fairness in the organisation, strongly differing from what was previously mentioned by Devesa about the EU, that protects the right to preservation of a democratic system.
Because of this, it is possible to note the different approaches to the decision-making processes of the two most important institutions in Europe: the first, the approach aimed at overcoming unanimity, typical of a system that wants to govern the citizens through democratic mechanisms, and the second, the intergovernmental approach, which is based on the idea of the full sovereignty of States, and is still tied to the belief that unanimity is necessary.
NATO, moreover, being a military alliance, therefore leaves no room for a democratic system of decision-making, but considers it fundamental to consider the opinion of all 32 states and possibly find a compromise.
[Edited by Sara Bertolli]
The original article is available here.
