La Prime Minister of Italy it was very clear in refusing to abolish the unanimous vote, as Sergio Fabbrini recalled on the sun, for the strategic decisions of the European Union (EU). Abandoning the consolidated pro-European position of our country, Giorgia Meloni argued that the priority consists in "defend national interests” and, therefore, in avoiding the risk that a majority of EU member states make choices not shared by its government on issues that are crucial for the future of Italy. Corriere della Sera, Mario Monti – first – and Lucretia Reichlin – then – they argued that this position will prevent the EU from rimplement urgent economic reforms, to expand to other countries (including Ukraine) without compromising its decision-making effectiveness and to defend its spaces on an international chessboard dominated by power relations.
The paradox of consensus: when unanimity blocks Europe
What is disturbing is theidentification of national interests power to prevent that the institutions of the freely chosen community of belonging (i.e., the EU) can make unpleasant strategic decisions even to just one of its member states. This veto power cannot be equated with the protection of minority positions or the existence of checks and balances between the various forms of authority that are inherent in every liberal democracy. Instead, it requires that every relevant initiative be isolated from others and transformed into a search for compromises that must not conflict with the immediate objectives of any of the parties involved.
In this regard, the fact that the European Council has occupied an increasing space Since the sovereign debt crisis of the 2010s, it has been emblematic: its decisions by consensus have influenced European procedures even in cases where it would have been possible to resort to qualified majorities, thus resulting in often disappointing choices.
La exasperated search for consensus preventsIn effect, cooperation fosters conflict. Decision-making ceases to be a process that evolves over time and covers a range of issues, for which solid majorities are formed. Instead of cooperative relationships aimed at ensuring net positive benefits for each member state, decisions are conceived as a single game, in which the player fearing defeat arrogates to himself the right to avoid the final outcome by "running away with the ball."
From paralysis to sovereignist illusion
La failure to ratify only on the part of Italy of the new statute of the European Stability Mechanism This logic was already prefigured, and is now reinforced by the definition of national interest proposed by Meloni. This definition suggests, in fact, that Italy has an agenda so different from that of the EU to be willing to 'stay in Europe' as long as it does not have to share any national sovereignty.
To think that a It is an illusion that such an approach is equivalent to ensuring the interests of our country.. In the EU, the matches are not isolated; and, in the following ones, the trust between the players will plummet. Suffice it to say, in this regard, three findings.
PrimoBy condemning the EU to decision-making paralysis, nationalism will not guarantee the desired space for European 'nations' in global governance, but will undermine the goal of the EU's strategic autonomy and result in an 'unhappy vassalage' of individual member states towards the Trump Administration. SecondoBy undermining the timid progress made in the Commission's draft, nationalism will degrade the 2028-34 EU budget from a potential incubator for the production of European public goods to a crutch for national budgets. The "take the (European) money and run" mentality will not only make any attempt to issue common debt unrealistic, but will also ultimately reduce transfers to member states. Third: the national veto power will undermine the effectiveness of the "coalitions of the willing" advocated by Draghi. Rather than serving as a political "condenser" for the launch of more advanced integration processes, these coalitions will become the harbinger of an à la carte EU destined to disintegrate over time.
Shared sovereignty, Europe's true strength
There is an opposing conception of national interest. The "Manifesto for Europe," which we promoted two years ago (Il Sole, October 4, 2023), shows that only one shared European sovereignty can guarantee the effective sovereignty of individual EU countriesNationalism is against the national interest.
