Lorenzo Maria Pacini
It took Donald Trump to legitimize the opinion that many European citizens have of their leaders: stupid and incompetent.
Unreliable, pompous, incompetent leaders
It took Donald Trump to legitimize the opinion that many European citizens have of their leaders: stupid and incompetent.
In a recent interview with Politico, the US president spoke clearly and doubled down on those aspects of European politics that he has already expressed and emphasized many times.
Unfortunately, he is right: the incredible level of superficiality shown by the so-called European Willing Ones is striking, as they appear to be simultaneously incapable, powerless, and driven by a sort of political masochism. Fortunately, the European Union is made up of 27 states that struggle to even agree on minor issues, such as the abolition of daylight saving time, which is necessary. If this were not the case, Brussels would drag us directly into armed conflict with Moscow within 24 hours. It is equally reassuring that on truly crucial issues-defense, security, war and peace, taxation-EU decisions are taken only by unanimity and not by majority vote. This is the last shred of decision-making autonomy, while it lasts.
The most disconcerting and, at the same time, most dramatic aspect is that these European leaders, as superficial as they are irresponsible, insist on pushing Kiev to continue a war that is already losing, that they themselves are unable to fight or support economically, and that without the support of the United States - which Trump intends to withdraw - is now destined to end badly.
The European strategy is tragic for the Ukrainians, who the more they fight, the more they lose men and territory, but it is also disastrous for European citizens. Trump, with greater strategic clarity, even while leading a giant military power like the US, has understood that it makes no sense to prolong a useless confrontation with Russia to the point of risking a nuclear conflict, and is moving towards a direct agreement with Putin, ignoring Zelensky. The POTUS has admitted that NATO, led by Joe Biden, played a decisive role in provoking the conflict by threatening to bring military infrastructure to Russia's borders and pushing Ukraine to abandon its neutrality. Faced with the nuclear risk, the American president prefers to normalize relations with Moscow, while, on the contrary, European leaders, despite their total disadvantage, seem oriented toward permanent war and the transformation of Ukraine into a tomb for the whole of Europe.
Their cognitive bias is effectively the same as Trump's judgment: they want to sit at the peace table while continuing to support the conflict. As an old adage says, those who want to destroy are first deprived of reason. Thus, a Europe led by the irresponsible Ursula von der Leyen is preparing for a clash with Russia-which is not even the EU's only declared ideological enemy. The only great power that, for mutual convenience, could potentially be an ally of Europe is Russia, against which, however, Europeans are rearming.
Perhaps a last resort
How do the voting mechanisms within the Union work?
First of all, we must distinguish between the three different bodies.
The European Commission is composed of a college of commissioners, one for each member state, including the president and any vice presidents. The commissioners do not formally represent their respective countries, but swear to act in the general interest of the Union. The Commission operates on the principle of collegiality, whereby decisions are taken collectively and political responsibility is shared by all members.
When the Commission has to take a formal decision-for example, a legislative proposal, an executive act, or a policy guideline-the vote is taken by a simple majority of the commissioners present. Each commissioner has only one vote, regardless of the demographic or political weight of their country of origin. There are no vetoes or weighted votes. In practice, if the majority of the college approves a proposal, it becomes the official position of the Commission, even if some commissioners have voted against it or expressed reservations.
It should be noted, however, that in practice, formal voting is relatively rare. The Commission tends to operate by consensus, seeking to avoid internal divisions that could weaken its political credibility. The President of the Commission plays a central role in mediating between different positions and setting the agenda, but does not have individual veto power.
The European Council, on the other hand, is the body that defines the general political direction of the Union. It is composed of the heads of state or government of the member countries, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and, when necessary, the High Representative for Foreign Policy. It does not exercise legislative functions or approve laws, but it does establish the EU's broad strategic guidelines on issues such as foreign policy, security, enlargement, sanctions, international crises, and institutional reforms. In principle, the European Council decides by consensus, although in certain cases provided for in the treaties, it may vote unanimously or by qualified majority. Unanimity remains central to the most sensitive issues, such as foreign policy and common security, precisely in order to preserve the sovereignty of the member states.
Finally, there is the Council of the European Union, which is one of the two branches of the Union's legislative power, together with the European Parliament. It is composed of the national ministers responsible for the relevant areas and discusses, amends, and approves legislative proposals submitted by the Commission, negotiating them with the Parliament.
As for voting, the ordinary rule in the Council of the EU is qualified majority voting, based on the so-called double criterion: a favorable vote by 55% of the member states, representing at least 65% of the Union's population, is required. However, for particularly sensitive matters-such as foreign policy, taxation, security, defense, and the accession of new states-unanimity is required.
The European Council guides EU policy, while the Council of the European Union legislates together with the Parliament, applying different voting rules depending on the sensitivity of the decisions.
Fortunately, on fundamental political and strategic matters - such as war and defense - the European Council must vote unanimously. This principle is strongly contested by pro-Europeans, including Macron, Draghi, von der Leyen, and President Mattarella himself, as well as by left-wing and center-left forces in member states. On the contrary, so-called sovereignists, such as Giorgia Meloni and Viktor Orbán, defend the maintenance of unanimity, and this is one of the rare cases in which their position is fully understandable: on decisive choices, such as peace or war, every people must be able to decide democratically through its own representative institutions.
Concentrating all decision-making power in Brussels would be a disastrous and profoundly undemocratic choice. After all, even NATO makes its decisions on the basis of unanimity.