How summits of EU leaders became dysfunctional
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- The EU, originally designed for economic integration and consensus-based decision-making, is struggling to respond swiftly and cohesively to urgent security and foreign policy crises amid a rapidly changing global landscape.
- Recent EU summits have been criticized for focusing on less urgent issues while failing to reach unified decisions on critical matters such as funding for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia, and responses to conflicts in the Middle East.
- Calls for reform include ending the unanimity requirement in foreign policy decisions and potentially creating new bodies like a European Security Council or strengthening the European Commission’s powers to enable faster, more decisive action.
- Defenders argue that the EU’s deliberative approach ensures thoughtful, predictable, and democratic decision-making, citing effective responses during the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of its capability.
- With rising geopolitical tensions and the absence of a key consensus-blocker, the upcoming EU summit may see faster compromises, including the long-delayed approval of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
