Europe in the World

JEF-France calls on France’s UN Security Council seat to be turned into EU seat

, by Juuso Järviniemi

JEF-France calls on France's UN Security Council seat to be turned into EU seat
Photo: Sara Kurfeß

Les Jeunes Européens – France, the French section of the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe), backs the idea of France giving up its permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. In a press release, the organisation calls for the seat to be given to “a European Union equipped with the means to build a real common diplomacy”, one that promotes a “peaceful and democratic world”.

The debate on Europeanising France’s UN Security Council seat rose to the headlines on Wednesday as the German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz expressed his support for the idea. In an appeal for the EU to be united on the global arena, Scholz said that "we could perhaps imagine that in the medium term the French seat becomes an EU seat”.

In the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on 29 March, France is set to become the only EU member state with a permanent seat and veto power in the Security Council.

Despite Brexit offering an opportunity for more united European representation in the UN, French diplomats were quick to reject the proposal. On the contrary, JEF-France welcomed Scholz’s statement, adding that giving the Security Council seat to the EU will only make sense if there is a “real European diplomacy”.

Consequently, JEF-France calls for the seat change to be accompanied by the creation of a common Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an integrated European diplomacy controlled by the European institutions, and reflection on the geopolitical priorities and strategic partnerships of the Union.

According to JEF-France’s proposal, the common European positions in the Security Council would be shaped by the EU foreign ministry in concert with the member states and other European institutions.

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