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Europe

Bernd Lange accuses EU Commission of hiding behind voting rules

A dispute over how EU states would vote on a trade ban for Israeli settlement goods erupted in Parliament’s trade committee on Thursday, 5 November. German MEP Bernd Lange accused the European Commission of using the lack of agreement among member states as a reason not to propose legislation.

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Commission official Léon Delvaux said no decision had been made on which voting option, or combination of options, to pursue. “So far, no majority has come about on any of these options,” he told the committee.

Vladimir Janecek of the European External Action Service, the EU’s foreign policy branch, said incompatible positions had prevented officials from finding a way forward that satisfied different viewpoints.

MEPs challenged that reasoning, arguing that the Commission routinely proposes legislation without first establishing majority support among EU states. Lange, a German Socialists & Democrats MEP who chairs the committee, called the approach “totally unacceptable.” He said it was “totally new” to him that the Commission would seek confirmation of a qualified majority in the Council before presenting legislation, adding: “It’s crazy.”

According to lawyers at the Council, which represents member states, the EU could impose a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements through a qualified majority vote. The Commission, however, favours the more controversial requirement of unanimity.

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