Italian PM: Member States Must Give Up Unanimity On Foreign Policy

Delivering an address to the European Parliament, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi states that the 'principle of unanimity in foreign policy should be overcome', essentially calling for an end to the member states' veto over actions relating to foriegn policy such as sanctions and diplomatic relations.

• While MEPs in the Strasbourg chamber applauded Draghi, the prospect of this aim being achieved is almost nil. In order to end the unanimity principle on issues of foreign policy, there would have to be unanimous support from all national capitals.
• Those member states such as Hungary or Poland that have had fractious relations with Brussels in recent years, or those which have sought to oppose deepening integration on areas such as social or foreign policy such as Denmark, would likely use their veto to strike down any attempt to end unanimity.
• Draghi also talked up the acceleration of the accession process for non-EU member states, naming Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Ukraine as nations that should become members of the bloc.
• This is another area where there is unlikely to be any progress soon (in spite of the current goodwill towards the Ukrainian application). There remain concerns in some member states about the impact of mass immigration from the Balkan nations, while the 'frugal four' are likely to raise issues with potential economic costs associated with brining these nations into the EU.