Von der Leyen advocates abandoning the dogma of unanimity to unblock the EU

BrusselsThe European Union is slow but predictable. Or so it was argued. Emmanuel Macron in his famous speech at the Davos Forum. But what if the European blog could act faster? This is a constant debate in European institutions, and now Ursula von der Leyen has brought it back to the table amidst the crisis in relations with the United States, Russian expansionism, and the growing threat posed by China.

The President of the European Commission has called on European leaders, who will meet this Thursday, to "not be timid" in using the tools the EU has to push through initiatives without the consensus of all 27 member states, especially when "there is a lack of progress" or the dogma of "losing competitiveness" of the blog. Specifically, in a letter sent this Monday to European heads of state and government, Von der Leyen proposes using, if necessary, the mechanism known as enhanced cooperation

This is a legislative tool that allows policies to be passed without the consensus of all member states: the support of nine states is sufficient. A structural use of this legislative apparatus, as Von der Leyen now points out, could ultimately lead to a kind of two- or multi-speed European Union. That is, each country could join the initiatives it deems appropriate but be unable to veto other member states from implementing them.

Clear examples of a multi-speed EU are the Schengen Area, the Eurozone, and the so-called coalition of volunteers to help Ukraine. However, some member states are now pushing again to go much further. Last week, the finance ministers of the largest economies in the European club—Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands—met. The initiative was named E6, and the intention is to create a core group of countries that move more quickly on major policies they agree on, and from there, other European partners who wish to join can do so.

Avoiding the Dissenters

In this way, the EU could more easily circumvent the obstacles posed by three of the club's black sheep: Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. These countries, with their pro-Russian governments, often block European initiatives of all kinds, especially those related to Ukraine and opposed to Vladimir Putin's regime. In fact, the EU has already implemented several measures through enhanced cooperation. The most recent instance was last December when it decided to permanently freeze Russian funds that the European bloc has blocked without the approval of the Hungarian, Slovak, and Czech governments. These three countries are also not participating in the disbursement of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine to counter the Russian offensive.