Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that if the EU abandons the consensus-based decision-making principle, small member states could lose key tools to protect their national interests.
In a Facebook post, Papuashvili argued that EU membership is valuable because it allows countries to influence decisions, support favorable policies, and block measures that could harm them. He warned that removing the consensus rule could turn the bloc from an association of equal members into one dominated by larger countries.
According to Papuashvili, under such conditions, remaining outside the EU could even be more beneficial for smaller states, as they would retain greater freedom to make independent decisions.
He also questioned whether candidate countries are being offered membership in the EU as it exists today or in a reformed system where obligations remain while rights and influence are reduced.
