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Abolish the Council Veto! (Petition to the Conference’s Representatives)
20/01/2022 14:10
88 comments
No single national government of the European Union should be able to dictate its will to other members. However, such a power has existed ever since the foundation of the EU. This is because, in many policy areas, any member state can block any decision by exercising a veto – with severe consequences. We, therefore, call on the representatives of the Conference on the Future of Europe to demand an end to this blocking power and replace it with the qualified majority voting system already successfully applied in some policy areas.
These are just three of many examples where the blocking power has prevented decisions in the interest of all Europeans:
1. In 2020, the Belarussian government faked an election victory. The EU was unable to sanction the public officials responsible for the fraud because Cyprus (representing 0.2 % of the EU’s population) vetoed the punishment.
2. In 2019, Ireland and Sweden (representing 4 % of the EU’s population) were able to prevent the introduction of a digital tax that would have levied taxes on large multinational platforms like Facebook and Google.
3. In 2020, the governments of Hungary and Poland threatened to veto the EU’s annual budget to prevent a stricter control of the rule of law.
2. In 2019, Ireland and Sweden (representing 4 % of the EU’s population) were able to prevent the introduction of a digital tax that would have levied taxes on large multinational platforms like Facebook and Google.
3. In 2020, the governments of Hungary and Poland threatened to veto the EU’s annual budget to prevent a stricter control of the rule of law.
We can prevent these and dozens of other cases of hindering true European solutions if the EU were to abolish the veto.
Therefore, We, the undersigned, demand: abolish the veto! #NoVeto