Germany and France, along with nine other European Union member states, have backed a plan aimed at making the EU's decision-making process on foreign and security policy issues more efficient, according to a letter obtained by Politico .

The letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, signed by 11 member states, including France and Germany, proposes five ways to speed up and increase the efficiency of decision-making under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). These include the wider use of qualified majority voting.

Under EU rules, decisions related to the Common Foreign and Security Policy must be unanimously approved by all 27 member states. This rule has caused major deadlocks, particularly when former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban used his veto power to block decisions supported by the other 26 capitals.

Germany has been at the forefront of calls to replace unanimous decision-making on CFSP issues with qualified majority voting. However, France and several other countries have traditionally opposed such a change. The letter opens the possibility of wider use of qualified majority voting, but does not directly support a complete change to the voting system.

"We strive to achieve consensus wherever possible. But we must ensure that the culture of consensus fosters joint action and not hinders it, because otherwise we will have legitimacy but not strength," the letter states.

In addition to France and Germany, the document was also signed by the Foreign Ministers of Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain.

The letter proposes that member states emphasize the principle of "sincere cooperation," which means that countries must respect the obligations they have made to each other, even when they are not strictly legally binding.

It is also proposed to use "constructive abstention" instead of a full veto, so that the EU is not hindered in its actions.

Another proposal is to prohibit the linking of “unrelated issues” to the issue under discussion. This would aim to prevent the practice of holding collective decisions hostage through the threat of a veto until other states accept a specific national request.

Kaja Kallas is also asked to examine options for improving the decision-making process provided for in the EU treaties. One option is the so-called “passerelle clause”, which allows voting rules to be changed without amending the EU treaties themselves. For example, this could be used to introduce qualified majority voting on certain foreign and security policy issues.

Finally, the need is emphasized for any state that uses the right of veto for vital and clearly defined reasons of national policy to explain the reasons for the decision, especially in cases where the decision is adopted by a qualified majority.

The letter is expected to be discussed this week, when EU foreign ministers gather in Wicklow, Ireland, for informal talks in the Gymnich format.

These talks will also examine possibilities for reforming the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic structure headed by Kaja Kallas.

According to the Franco-German document, one of the options for reforming the EEAS is for Kallas to become executive vice-president of the European Commission, with oversight over the Commission's units dealing with foreign policy, including trade, development aid and defence.

It is also proposed that a large part of the EEAS staff be integrated into the Commission structure through the creation of a new department for external relations.

The staff responsible for security and defense policy would remain within the EEAS, while the new unit would maintain the principle that one third of the staff would consist of diplomats delegated by EU member states.

The document also emphasizes the role of member states in defining EU foreign policy. It is envisaged that the high representative will have a formal role to report to EU leaders on foreign policy issues and receive direct instructions from them during European Council meetings. /Telegraph/

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