“EU bureaucracy taking path of Sovietisation” - Georgian Parliament official criticises German push to scrap EU veto right

Archil Gorduladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, on Monday criticised Germany's initiative to abolish the veto right in the European Union, claiming the current EU bureaucracy was following the path of the Soviet Union.

In his remarks, Gorduladze argued that abolishing the veto would leave member states with obligations but without meaningful rights, comparing the proposal to the governance model of the former Soviet Union.

“However, we are now witnessing the current EU bureaucracy taking the path of Sovietisation. They argue that countries should have obligations only, without any rights. We experienced this for 70 years, when it was written on paper that all fifteen Soviet republics had the right to leave the Soviet Union, yet in practice no such possibility existed. Isn't the European Union heading down exactly the same path? A country having only obligations and no rights amounts to the complete elimination of its sovereignty”, Gorduladze said.

Germany’s proposal seeks to abolish the principle of unanimity and the veto right in EU decision-making, allowing key decisions to be adopted by qualified majority voting.

The initiative has already been backed by 12 EU member states.