{"id":42535,"date":"2026-03-24T15:21:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=42535"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:21:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:21:39","slug":"president-milanovic-opposes-abolishing-unanimity-within-the-eu-the-decision-making-system-must-remain-as-it-is-as-unanimity-is-enshrined-in-the-eus-founding-treaties","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-opposes-abolishing-unanimity-within-the-eu-the-decision-making-system-must-remain-as-it-is-as-unanimity-is-enshrined-in-the-eus-founding-treaties\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 Opposes Abolishing Unanimity within the EU: The Decision-Making System Must Remain as It Is, as Unanimity Is Enshrined in the EU\u2019s Founding Treaties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cUnanimity is enshrined in the founding treaties of the European Union. Any discussion about possible changes should also include an answer to the question of how such changes could actually be achieved. There is no consensus for amendments to the EU\u2019s fundamental legal framework. Without consensus, there can be no changes to the basic rules. The constitutional architecture of the European Union is untouchable,\u201d President Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said after meeting with the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, in response to a question about proposals to abolish unanimous decision-making by all EU member states in certain areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 therefore believes that \u201cthe proposal is flawed at its core,\u201d adding that abolishing unanimity \u201cin decision-making on enlargement, that is, the accession of new member states, is a proposal I have opposed from the outset.\u201d He stressed that this position has nothing to do with North Macedonia\u2019s European integration. Journalists had asked whether abolishing unanimity in enlargement matters would help North Macedonia finally begin EU accession negotiations, after more than 20 years of delays caused by blockages from certain member states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He considers such a proposal unfair to North Macedonia because it would remove unanimity for opening and conducting negotiations, while full EU membership would still ultimately require the approval of all member states. \u201cWe would abolish unanimity at certain stages of the process, but in the end the final decision on admitting a new member state would still have to be unanimous. As far as North Macedonia is concerned, I believe Croatia\u2019s position is clear, open and friendly toward its ambitions, and there are no outstanding issues,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said after meeting with President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, who is on an official visit to the Republic of Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The President also stated that unanimity in foreign policy and other sensitive issues affecting member states is \u201cvery often a matter of identity and fundamental national interests.\u201d \u201cThese decisions are taken unanimously, meaning with the votes of all member states, and that is probably the last safeguard, especially for small states \u2014 a defense mechanism against the arbitrariness of larger states and those who steer the process through non-transparent methods and levers we cannot see,\u201d the Croatian President explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore, the decision-making system must remain as it is,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about the topics discussed during the meeting with the President of North Macedonia, President Milanovi\u0107 said they mainly concerned North Macedonia\u2019s efforts to move closer to the EU. \u201cI will not call it a path \u2014 because it has turned into a detour, and not through any fault of North Macedonia \u2014 but rather an attempt by North Macedonia to become a member of something that many of us, myself included until recently, regarded as the highest expression of statehood: accession to the EU. In Croatia\u2019s case, this was achieved only through great effort, and in North Macedonia\u2019s case, considering its historical path and geopolitical surroundings, it is an even greater achievement that it managed to emerge and survive as an independent state in such a historically turbulent environment,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNorth Macedonia will decide its own future and has the opportunity to determine what matters most to it. Is EU membership worth pursuing at any cost, when what is being asked of North Macedonia lately amounts to a kind of bargaining that is difficult to satisfy \u2014 whatever you do, a new demand follows, including things you could not have anticipated. North Macedonia alone must decide what is best for it and which path it chooses. The real path is one of security, well-being, prosperity, peace and stability for its citizens, while everything else, including the EU, is merely a fa\u00e7ade. I wish North Macedonia, the Macedonian people and its political leaders all the best, and I hope they assess for themselves \u2014 without outside mentoring, manipulation or direction \u2014 what is truly in their interest. Life outside the EU is also possible, and it can be successful and fully dignified,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Dario Andri\u0161ek, Filip Glas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cUnanimity is enshrined in the founding treaties of the European Union. Any discussion about possible changes should also include an answer to the question of how such changes could actually be achieved. There is no consensus for amendments to the EU\u2019s fundamental legal framework. Without consensus, there can be no changes to the basic rules. The constitutional architecture of the European Union is untouchable,\u201d President Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said after meeting with the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, in response to a question about proposals to abolish unanimous decision-making by all EU member states in certain areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":42553,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-42535","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 Opposes Abolishing Unanimity within the EU: The Decision-Making System Must Remain as It Is, as Unanimity Is Enshrined in the EU\u2019s Founding Treaties - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-opposes-abolishing-unanimity-within-the-eu-the-decision-making-system-must-remain-as-it-is-as-unanimity-is-enshrined-in-the-eus-founding-treaties\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 Opposes Abolishing Unanimity within the EU: The Decision-Making System Must Remain as It Is, as Unanimity Is Enshrined in the EU\u2019s Founding Treaties - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cUnanimity is enshrined in the founding treaties of the European Union. 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