Germany woos Poland to give up veto power in foreign affairs

5 months ago 20

German State Minister for Europe Anna Lührmann (Greens) on Monday stressed the need to move to qualified majority voting to prepare for EU enlargement, citing lessons to be learned from Polish history.

Since the re-election of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (PO/EPP), relations between Poland and Germany have improved dramatically, including through the revival of the “Weimar Triangle” format involving Germany, France and Poland.

Speaking at the Polish Embassy in Berlin to mark the anniversary of the Polish Constitution on 3 May, Lührmann stressed the need for EU enlargement and reform to go hand in hand.

Given “a larger EU is not automatically a stronger EU,” Lührmann said, the “internal reforms” in addition to enlargement are also needed.

“This also includes a discussion about qualified majority voting in the EU,” she said, adding that “Polish history and the Liberum veto show us the potential dangers of unanimity.”

The Liberum veto, a rule in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the 17th and 18th centuries, gave any member of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, the right to block legislation and has been criticised as a means for foreign countries, such as Russia, to obstruct decision-making.

“We should have the courage to learn together from Polish history,” Lührmann concluded.

While Germany has long been a proponent of giving up individual countries’ veto rights, particularly on foreign policy issues, the previous Polish government was a staunch opponent.

However, the new Tusk-led government has signalled more openness, with Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski (PO/EPP) telling Greek newspaper Kathimerini in April that “the Polish public would support dropping unanimity in some areas, for example regarding sanctions.” He stressed, however, that no decision had yet been taken on Poland’s position.

The Polish governing coalition is divided on the issue. While the Left is in favour of scrapping veto rights for individual countries, the centrist Poland 2050 candidate in the EU elections, Paweł Zalewski, says it should be retained.

In December 2023, the Polish government laid out its objectives for a European Parliament proposal on EU reform, according to a document obtained by Euractiv.pl, including a call to extend qualified majority voting.

Earlier this year, the issue also caused friction within the centre-right EPP party.

Additional reporting by Aleksandra Krzysztoszek.

(Jonathan Packroff | Euractiv.de)