Poland concerned about EU’s post-Brexit voting system

Warsaw has doubts about a proposal to abolish the need for unanimity in foreign policy decisions and replacing this with qualified majority voting system, state news agency PAP has reported.

Poland fears that after the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the bloc, the EU’s largest countries will dictate the rules, according to PAP.

“I turned to the European Commission with a suggestion of drawing up a report on how Brexit will influence each country’s voting power. We are concerned that the existing system, after the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, will be insufficiently representative, unfair, and maybe undemocratic as well,” said Poland’s top diplomat, as cited by PAP.

Czaputowicz on Monday attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

One of the issues discussed was abandoning the system of unanimous decisions needed in some areas of foreign policy and replacing it with a qualified majority system.

Fifty-five percent of member countries (16 out of 28), representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population, is needed to approve a decision by qualified majority in the Council of the EU. A blocking minority has to consist of at least four countries representing over 35 percent of the bloc’s population. This voting system is used to take decisions concerning a majority of issues in the EU, including key laws.

(jh/pk)

Source: PAP, IAR