Romania wants to change the rules in Brussels. Why ending unanimity could benefit Bucharest

Romania is backing a major change in the way the European Union makes foreign-policy decisions: replacing unanimity with qualified-majority voting. Bucharest and 10 other countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, have asked EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas to support the shift.

For Romania, the proposal carries particular weight. The country has repeatedly encountered opposition when its integration into the Schengen Area was discussed. Austria and the Netherlands were usually the countries saying no, while Germany and France also expressed serious reservations at times. A voting system that allows one government to block a decision has therefore been a longstanding source of frustration.

The proposal could also affect Moldova, which Romania strongly supports. Bucharest has a clear interest in a system that would make EU decisions less vulnerable to a single country’s veto, particularly as the bloc considers defence and enlargement. The argument is not limited to Romania’s own position, however. Its supporters say the EU’s institutional rules no longer fit a much larger union.

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Historically, this unanimous vote corresponded to a way of operating for a much smaller European community, in which perfect cohesion between member states was necessary and it was difficult to believe that policies would ever be completely blocked by one state or another.

Sergiu Mișcoiu, a political scientist and professor at Babeș-Bolyai University and Paris-Est Créteil University, made that case in an analysis for Adevărul. He said unanimity suited a much smaller European community, where member states needed complete cohesion and widespread blockages seemed unlikely.

“After the waves of enlargement in 2004, 2007 and 2013, the composition of the European Union changed,” Mișcoiu said. With many more member states, he argued, unanimity has become increasingly difficult to achieve, especially on strategic decisions. The proposal would represent a major institutional shift for Brussels and a potentially important change for Romania’s priorities on security and enlargement.

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After the waves of enlargement in 2004, 2007 and 2013, the composition of the European Union changed, the number of states is much larger and unanimity-based practices are increasingly seen as difficult to achieve, especially regarding strategic decisions.