December 13, 2021
How France Can Promote EU Interests in the UN Security Council
In January, France will take over the rotating presidency of the European Union, securing an opportunity to set the EU agenda. One key ambition for the French presidency will be to transform the bloc into a more capable geopolitical actor.
Paris already plans to hold a Summit on European Defense in February and will unveil the Union’s highly anticipated Strategic Compass document in March.
Within this context, there has recently been speculation—including from the spokesman of President Emmanuel Macron’s party in the National Assembly—about France transferring its permanent United Nations Security Council seat to the European Union.
Yet political and legal constraints make this unlikely in the short term. Instead, EU leaders should consider alternative arrangements that would accomplish similar goals.
France and Britain have consistently supported Germany in its bid for a permanent UNSC seat. However, these bids were opposed by some other EU member states (especially Italy) and the United States.
Permanent seat holders in the European Union (namely only France after Brexit) must foster EU interests when fulfilling their duties.
As a result, then-Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz alternatively called for the conversion of the existing French permanent seat into an EU seat, building off of France and Germany’s then-upcoming shared presidency of the UNSC to promote EU positions and commitments in the UNSC.
As the European Union is a supranational union, it legally cannot have its own permanent seat on the UNSC. Instead, the European Union delegates its decision-making authority to member states that are in the UNSC.
Consequently, Scholz’s proposal noted that a permanent EU seat would remain a de jure French seat.
Scholz’s proposal was opposed by France, which argued that it already takes EU positions “into consideration” in the UNSC. Furthermore, the EU delegation arrangement allows France to take a proactive stance in the UNSC when the rest of the European Union has not reached consensus yet, ensuring a timely response to any emerging international crises.
Read the full story from Euractiv.
More from CNAS
-
Reflections on the Past Year in Transatlantic Relations, with Kori Schake and Steven Erlanger
Podcast
After a 2021 filled with both ups and downs, where do things stand between the United States and Europe as we head into 2022? Kori Schake and Steven Erlanger join Andrea Kenda...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Dr. Kori Schake & Steven Erlanger
-
Flash Release: Fiona Hill Reacts to U.S-Russia Talks
Podcast
As the situation in Ukraine continues to quickly evolve, what can we expect in the upcoming future? Fiona Hill joins Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss what the...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Fiona Hill
-
Flash Release: Mike McFaul Reacts to U.S.-Russia Talks
Podcast
Could there be a diplomatic solution to avoid an armed escalation in Ukraine after initial diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Russia? Michael McFaul joins A...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Michael A. McFaul
-
What It Will Take to Deter Russia
Commentary
Economic sanctions alone, no matter how personally painful they may be to Putin and his cronies, will not be enough....
By Jim Townsend
