Blocking by Proxy : Foreign Powers and the Council’s Unanimity Rules
Council President Charles Michel argued that unanimity “promotes a lasting commitment” from the Member States and allows them to “draw strength from our unity”. But from the outside, it does the opposite. When third parties seek to influence the EU’s foreign policy, using the Member States as proxies, in order to prevent the EU from upholding its values abroad, then unanimity does not equal strength but weakness. For this reason, it is urgently important for the EU to end its practice of Qualified Majority Voting.