Albares: “We must go beyond strategic autonomy and talk about European sovereignty”

The international panorama has changed and Europa You have to adapt to it. That is the lesson that the bloc of Twenty-seven has learned from the russian threat that looms over the Old Continent, the exposure to the consequences of the war in iranthe changes of course of USA and the internal challenges of political cohesion. To talk about these challenges, the Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albaresand his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorskihave shared a round table on the first day of the Annual Meeting of the Cercle d’Economia.

“This is a defining moment for Europe, in which We must go even further from autonomy and talk about European sovereignty“, Albares has proposed. The minister has defended that the war in ukraine constitutes a decisive issue for the future of the European project. In his opinion, the conflict not only tests the EU’s ability to defend the values ​​and principles on which it is based, but also will mark the design of the continent’s future security framework. In this sense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has reiterated the will to create a European army and integrate the defense industries of the bloc’s countries.

For Sikorski, also Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, the Russian offensive takes on special relevance due to his country’s geographical proximity to the conflict. ““We are a continent under pressure, especially those of us on the eastern flank.”he explained. However, Sikorski has expressed optimism about the Ukraine’s progress in the front. “Putin thought he would take back Ukraine as a colony within three days to six weeks. We shouldn’t panic (…) They are beginning not only to lose ground, but also to suffer more casualties than they are capable of replacing with new recruits,” he assured.

The blockage in European decisions

To face the challenges of the present, the European bloc has an internal problem, the voting system in the Council, which guarantees the veto right and slows down joint decisions. “It is not ideas that we lack in Europe, we lack the political will to do it,” explained Albares.

In that sense, countries like Hungaryunder the leadership of Viktor Orbán, They have repeatedly wielded the right to veto European Union decisions as a political weapon. This is what happened, Albares recalled, with the approval of economic aid to Ukraine, measures that Budapest blocked for months and that have gone ahead after the change of government. “I accept the unanimity when there is a vital national interest. However, It has always disgusted me when I have seen a state that uses it simply to stop the rest of us from moving forward when we want.“said the minister.

The debate around this mechanism, initially designed to balance the weight of the smallest members against the bloc’s powers, has resurfaced in recent months, although the change to a qualified majority system It would be an aggravation for smaller states. “I don’t think unanimity is the only expression of democracy. The current double majority system isn’t exactly fair either: allows France and Germany to organize a blocking minority too easily“said the Polish minister.

The future of Europe

For his part, Albares has defended the right to veto when it comes to vital national interests, but rejects its use as a mechanism to block proposals such as establish Catalan as an official language of the EUsomething that he considers to be “a matter of time.”

However, the minister recalled that historic decisions within Europe have never been taken jointly, but rather there must be a vanguard of pioneer countries, as was the case with the adoption of the euro or the approval of the Schengen treaty. “This is how Europe is going to move forward,” he concluded.

Subscribe to continue reading