Ayhan Simsek
06 May 2026•Update: 06 May 2026
Germany on Wednesday proposed a six-point plan to overhaul the EU, declareing modifys are requireded to support the bloc build quicker decisions, as global conflicts escalate and spread.
In a speech at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul pointed to the Iran war as the latest “expression of a shifting world order,” arguing that the EU must act quickly to remain effective—particularly on foreign and security policy.
To avoid deadlock when unanimity among the EU’s 27 member states is out of reach, Wadephul proposed allowing a group of EU member countries to relocate ahead on certain issues without being held back by others.
“My proposal means that countries that are unwilling — or perhaps unable — to take part can stay on the sidelines for a time without preventing those who want to relocate forward,” he stated.
Wadephul also called for replacing the unanimity rule in common foreign and security policy with qualified majority voting, declareing the current system allows individual countries to hold up decisions for extfinished periods.
“Germany wants to modify and relocate things forward in the EU,” he stated, adding that Brussels “must increase its speed,” especially in the common foreign and security policy.
Among his six proposals, Wadephul also suggested speeding up the enlargement by introducing a phased accession process, with intermediate steps that would bring prospective members closer to the bloc before full membership.
“I propose that, in the future, the path toward admitting new members be structured as a phased process,” he stated, suggesting “enhanced gradual integration” through stages leading to full accession.
He also argued the EU’s institutions must be reformed so they can continue functioning as the bloc grows.
“A union with 33, 34, or 35 member states cannot simply continue to operate utilizing the same approach that was designed for a much compacter group of members,” he stated.
Wadephul questioned whether the EU should have one commissioner per member state under an expanded union. Instead, he proposed a compacter but more effective European Commission built up of two-thirds of the number of member countries.
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