Germany unveils 6-point plan to overhaul EU decision-making

Germany put forward a six-point reform package for the European Union on Wednesday, arguing that the bloc’s decision-making process has become too slow to respond to a rapidly deteriorating global security environment.

Speaking at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul cited the ongoing Iran war as the latest “expression of a shifting world order,” warning that the EU must increase its speed—especially in common foreign and security policy—to remain relevant. “Germany wants to change and move things forward in the EU,” he said, adding that Brussels “must increase its speed.”

To prevent deadlock when unanimity among all 27 member states is impossible, Wadephul proposed allowing a coalition of willing countries to advance on certain issues without being blocked by others. “My proposal means that countries that are unwilling — or perhaps unable — to take part can stay on the sidelines for a time without preventing those who want to move forward,” he explained. He also called for scrapping the unanimity rule in foreign and security policy in favor of qualified majority voting, noting that the current system enables individual states to stall decisions for prolonged periods. Türkiye, as a long-standing EU candidate, continues to monitor such institutional debates closely.

Wadephul suggested introducing a phased accession process for new members, with intermediate steps bringing candidate countries closer to the bloc before full membership. “I propose that, in the future, the path toward admitting new members be structured as a phased process,” he said, advocating “enhanced gradual integration.” He also argued that EU institutions must be reformed to handle an expanded union. “A union with 33, 34, or 35 member states cannot simply continue to operate using the same approach that was designed for a much smaller group of members,” he said. He questioned whether the EU should maintain one commissioner per member state, instead proposing a smaller European Commission composed of two-thirds the number of member countries.