Votes, Vetoes, Values: Foreign Interference, QMV and EU Foreign Policy in a Competitive Age

In early May 2023, a group of nine European Union countries called for reform of the way the Union takes decisions in its foreign and security policy. Traditionally a field where consensus and unanimity are the norm, pleas in favour of Qualified Majority Voting – where a single state will no longer be able to vote down decisions desired by a majority of states – are not new, but they are growing. Russia’s war on Ukraine and cases where vetoes have been exercised have led to calls for decision-making reform. There are many reasons to support Qualified Majority Voting, but there are compelling arguments in favour of maintaining the status quo. This Policy Brief looks at the pros and cons of Qualified Majority Voting from the perspective of foreign interference. It argues that the need to counter foreign interference might be the most compelling argument in favour of decision-making reform.