France will not hand over its UN Security Council to the European Union anytime soon-but there may be alternatives, Nick Locke and Francis Shen wrote.
gap Lokker is a researcher on the Transatlantic Security Project of the New American Security Center. Francis Shin is a research assistant at the European Center of the Atlantic Council.
In January, France will take over the rotating EU presidency to ensure that there is an opportunity to set the EU agenda. One of the main goals of the French presidency is to transform the European Union into a more capable geopolitical participant.
Paris is already planning to host a European Defense Summit In February, the alliance’s highly anticipated Strategic compass March file.
In this context, recently Speculation——Including from spokesman Speech in the National Assembly by the political party of President Emmanuel Macron on France’s transfer of its permanent seat on the UN Security Council to the European Union.
However, political and legal restrictions make this unlikely to happen in the short term. Instead, EU leaders should consider alternative arrangements to achieve similar goals.
France and the United Kingdom have consistently supported Germany tender Get a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.However, these bids have been met by some other EU member states (especially Italy) and America.
As a result, Olaf Scholz, the then vice-principal, replaced Call Convert existing French permanent seats to EU seats, based on the upcoming French and German seats shared Serving as President of the UN Security Council promote The EU’s position and commitments on the UN Security Council.
Since the EU is a supranational union, It cannot legally have its own permanent seat On the UN Security Council.On the contrary, the European Union represent Its decision-making power over the member states of the UN Security Council.
Holders of EU permanent seats (that is, only France after Brexit) must promote EU interests when performing their duties. Therefore, Schultz’s proposal pointed out that the permanent seat of the EU will still be the legal seat of France.
Schultz’s proposal was opposed by France, which believes that it has taken the position of the European Union.”considering“In the UN Security Council. In addition, the EU delegation’s arrangements allow France to take Positive posture When other EU countries have not yet reached a consensus, in the UN Security Council, ensure that any emerging international crises are dealt with in a timely manner.
The biggest obstacle for France to change its position on the reform of the UN Security Council is the domestic political situation. Facing his re-election in April next year, Macron must listen to public opinion in the next few months.
Although Macron himself is a staunch supporter of deeper EU integration, this view is not prevalent among his potential voters, only 15% Of French citizens expressed support for the current form of the European Union.
His pro-EU agenda faces two challenges right and remainMacron will take care not to anger those who are cautious about transferring more sovereignty to the supranational level. Therefore, France’s permanent membership in the UN Security Council is one of the country’s most important claims for global leadership, and therefore it is inaccessible in the current domestic context.
Instead of pursuing the unrealistic goal of transferring France’s UN Security Council seats to the EU, EU leaders should strengthen common foreign policy decisions within the existing institutional structure.
One way to achieve this goal is to implement Qualified majority (QMV) in the field of common foreign and security policy Decisions made by the UN Security Council, Such as establishing peacekeeping operations abroad, imposing sanctions on third countries, or authorizing the EU Military mission.
Through QMV, the EU can more seamlessly form a unified position on key international issues before the UN Security Council meeting and authorize France to support its cause within the forum.
Alternatively, France can coordinate with the Council of Europe and the Council of Europe under an informal consultation mechanism directly related to France’s policies in the UN Security Council.
This will ensure that France effectively retains the final decision on how to use its UN Security Council powers, thereby alleviating concerns about France’s loss of influence.
In addition, this will increase the trust between France and EU institutions in formulating and implementing major UN Security Council actions.The difference between the goals of France and the EU in the UN Security Council, such as Different ways The main reason for the settlement of the second civil war in Libya was the inconsistent strategic goals of France and the European Union.
In the medium term, France’s permanent seat may not become a permanent seat of the European Union.
However, France can more directly coordinate with EU institutions to guide its actions in the UN Security Council through the QMV in the European Council’s decision or through the informal consultation mechanism in which France retains full discretion.
Nonetheless, none of these alternatives will rule out the possibility of converting France’s permanent seats into EU permanent seats. Although this may be a distant dream at the moment, the idea of a joint EU seat may be valuable in the long run.
