Moving away from the fundamental principle of unanimity, as advocated by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and some Western politicians, would be particularly dangerous for the sovereignty of Central European countries – experts from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia agree during an international conference held at the headquarters of the Wacław Felczak Institute.
In recent months, the President of the European Commission has been publicly calling for the amendment of the European Treaties and the abandonment of the principle of unanimity when voting on key matters in the Council of the European Union. – I have always argued that unanimity voting in some key areas simply no longer makes sense – stated Ursula von der Leyen in the European Parliament in May 2022, at the closing ceremony of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The European Conservatives and Reformists Group withdrew from the series of debates on the principal challenges facing the EU, as a protest against the selection methods of the Conference participants, the manipulation of the expert selection process and the interpretation of so-called citizen recommendations. In addition to this, the governments of 13 EU Member States – Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden – drafted a joint document in May 2022 to express their opposition to "ill-considered and premature attempts" to amend the EU treaty.
BERLIN'S HAZARDOUS AMBITIONS
Nonetheless, Germany has consistently pushed for greater centralisation of power in the EU and increased privileges for EU institutions at the expense of national governments. This matter was discussed by the Minister of State for Europe and Climate, Anna Lührmann, and on several occasions by the German Chancellor himself. – Even the European treaties aren't set in stone. If together we come to the conclusion that the Treaties need to be amended so that Europe makes progress, then we should do that – argued Olaf Scholz during his high-profile speech in the Czech capital on 29 August 2022. In his most important keynote speech on European policy, the head of the German government advocated that the abandonment of the unanimity rule should take place gradually and start 'in areas in which it is particularly important that we speak with one voice'.
– This was the second worst speech by a German on the territory of the Czech Republic after Reinhard Heydrich's speech – assessed the former Czech diplomat and former employee of Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, Jaroslav Kuchyňa.
– Eliminating unanimity and switching to qualified majority decision-making would be a disaster for Central Europe – warned Jaroslav Kuchyňa of the CEVRO Institute, a private university that has been focusing on security, legal and political issues since 2014. Kuchyňa made this statement during a discussion of eminent experts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary organised on 18 April at the Warsaw headquarters of the Wacław Felczak Institute under the theme 'EU Reform. Needs and our Possibilities. Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian Perspective.'
DEFENDING SOVEREIGNTY
Participants of the international conference held at the Wacław Felczak Institute were united in their assessment that the plans of Berlin and the states keen on abandoning the EU unanimity rule in order to build a European superpower would be a clear threat to the sovereignty of countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
During a discussion on ways to 'effectively reform the European Union', which was moderated by Paweł Lisicki, editor-in-chief of the weekly Do Rzeczy, attorney Jerzy Kwaśniewski, President of the Board and co-founder of Ordo Iuris Institute, emphasised that many players inside the EU have long made no secret of their plans to transform themselves into a European superstate.
– We are all fully aware that we are dealing with a trend represented by more than merely one or two heads of state. We are facing a considerable undercurrent of a certain idea of a European superstate that would take over the remit of sovereign nations – warned Jerzy Kwaśniewski. – Whether this process goes ahead or is vetoed before it is too late is, to a large extent, dependent on us, i.e. Central European states and our position, as we will be the nations that fall victim to such a new superstate. However, this veto cannot be merely political. [...] It is necessary to build a strategic consensus that is broader than a single government and that builds a sovereign coalition of Central European nations blocking the concept of a superstate and emphasising the value of distributed governance. Distributed governance provides us with more effectiveness than centralised governance, and we – victims of decades of communism – most likely understand this issue better than Western Europeans – emphasised Jerzy Kwaśniewski during the discussion held at the Felczak Institute.
– No one in this room supports the idea of abolishing the veto. However, since 2008, the European Union has been battling a deep crisis, with the Greeks regularly announcing that they are close to bankruptcy, the Italians being 160 per cent in debt, and the debt of countries such as Spain and France also growing rapidly. It seems that the European Union has failed to provide an adequate response to the global financial crisis. Despite the above, EU leaders are seizing every opportunity to strengthen Brussels' hand. With the arrival of the migration crisis, Poland and Hungary succeeded on their own, while during that time, the EU elites made every effort to strengthen their rule instead of looking for a way to solve the problem. Brussels is also currently using funds intended to rebuild EU economies after the pandemic to blackmail individual member states in an attempt to restrict their sovereignty, with a particular emphasis on Central European countries. The attempt to strip member states of their veto rights is a crucial constituent of this trend – observed István Kovács, one of the founders of the Budapest-based Center for Fundamental Rights (Alapjogokért Központ).
WHO BENEFITS FROM V4?
Panel moderator Paweł Lisicki, editor-in-chief of the weekly Do Rzeczy, noted that after Russia's aggression against Ukraine, cooperation within the Visegrád Group became dormant. The challenging times of this format was the topic of the debate, which comprised experts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The discussion participants agreed that despite the crisis experienced by the Visegrád Group – caused by the lack of a common stance of all countries regarding the war in Ukraine – further cooperation between the Central European countries was necessary, as the Visegrád Four countries are still able to win much more in Brussels on many issues than if they were to fight for their interests independently.
– The Visegrád Group lies in our best interest. It is no coincidence that those who emphasise the importance of cooperation within Central Europe are not French or German. It should not be forgotten that the EU's expansion with the countries of our region was not the result of a beautiful idea but because our countries were excellent prospective markets. Therefore, it is not in the interest of France or Germany for the V4 countries to represent their national interests as a group. Besides, history has seen many powerful nations trying to play up the differences between our states – noted István Kiss, an analyst at the Hungarian Danube Institute.
– We are a group of countries with a shared history, positioned between Germany and Russia. Our geographical location will not change. Fate has condemned us to work together – remarked Jozef Majchrák, deputy editor-in-chief of the Slovak daily Postoj. At the Conference held at Warsaw's Felczak Institute, he pointed out that Slovakia, as a small country, has always sought strategic allies. A large share of Slovak political elites used to see Germany as this strategic partner; however, the war in Ukraine has shown that the attitude of the government in Berlin on energy supplies or relations with Moscow does not reflect Bratislava's perspective. In consequence, the upper circles of Slovakian society began to notice the growing position of Poland, which is much more predictable than Germany – explained Jozef Majchrák. Also, Hungarians are open to seeing Poland as a leader in this part of Europe. – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly made it clear that cooperation within the Visegrád Group only makes sense if it is led from Warsaw – observed the foreign affairs director of the Hungarian Századvég Foundation, Csaba Faragó. He then made a reference to the problem of cheap food imports from Ukraine faced by all the neighbouring countries. I spoke to many farmers and businessmen in Hungary who were struggling with this issue, but we could not do anything about it until Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki began to act. Hungary then joined Poland in these efforts – highlighted Csaba Faragó, noting that Poland has a great deal of causative power as the region's leader. It can also look out for the interests of Central European countries, and such endeavours are not always welcomed in Berlin or Paris. – Although Poland is strong, it is unable to act as a counterweight to Germany and France on its own. However, in cooperation with the countries of the region, together with Croatia, Slovenia and Romania, we have the ability to look after our interests effectively – noted István Kiss from the Hungarian Danube Institute.
VISEGRAD FUND
The analysts also took the opportunity to discuss the most effective ways of applying the grants from the Visegrad Fund, which focuses on advancing science and culture. The presented results of opinion polls carried out in Poland and Hungary showed how recent events have affected the mood in Central Europe and who might want to exploit this situation. – There is no denying that it is not in the interest of very serious Western or globalist entities to encourage good cooperation within the Visegrád Group. The West has players who may benefit from undermining good relations between Central European nations, for example, with regard to the issue of a common migration policy – observed Paweł Lisicki, editor-in-chief of the weekly Do Rzeczy.
– Professor Wacław Felczak used to say that either we, the people of Central Europe, learn to cooperate with each another, or we will once again become passengers on a train whose direction of travel, and even the places where it stops will be decided by others, and we'll have no say in it at all – remarked the Director of the Wacław Felczak Institute, Prof. Maciej Szymanowski during the international conference held on 18 April and attended, among others, by the Head of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Minister Marek Kuchciński and his deputy Andrzej Klarkowski, Helga Marik from the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary, the Director of the National Freedom Institute Wojciech Kaczmarczyk, as well as publicists, experts and analysts from ten think tanks from Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.