Ending EU unanimity vote will hurt smaller states, Georgian Parliament Speaker

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said proposals to abolish unanimous decision-making in the European Union risk undermining the bloc's founding principles and reducing the influence of smaller member states.

In a social media post on Monday, Papuashvili said Germany's initiative to replace unanimity with majority voting in some areas had gained the backing of 12 EU member states. If implemented, he argued, the change would transform the European Union from "a union of equal members" into one dominated by its largest countries.

Papuashvili said EU membership should serve as a means for countries to better protect their national interests rather than an end in itself, arguing that the principle of consensus was the key safeguard allowing smaller states to block decisions they considered harmful.

He warned that abolishing unanimity would deprive smaller countries of an essential mechanism for defending their interests and could lead to a significant loss of sovereignty if member states were required to accept decisions against their will.

The parliament speaker also suggested that the debate over institutional reform could be linked to slowing the EU's enlargement process. He argued that candidate countries were being offered membership in a reformed union in which they would assume full obligations while having fewer rights and less influence than current members.

Papuashvili also said the key question for candidate countries was not only when they might join the European Union, but also what kind of European Union they would be joining and whether they would enjoy equal rights as member states.

The European Union has said discussions on institutional reform are intended to improve the bloc's ability to function effectively, particularly in light of future enlargement, and any changes to the EU treaties would require the agreement of member states.