After Slovak scare, EU's Barroso wants eurozone vote reform

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission's president called on Thursday for an end to the eurozone's unanimous decision-making process after the fate of its debt crisis fund was left in the hands of one state, Slovakia.

As the Slovak parliament approved the revamped European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) in a new vote, Barroso said he was "disappointed" by its initial rejection this week of the eurozone's crisis shield.

"We believe that it is in the interest of Slovakia and of all of us to have this agreement," he told a news conference ahead of the new vote in Bratislava.

Barroso said it was "strange" that the IMF takes decisions by qualified majority, with countries given a certain share of votes depending on their size, while the 17-nation eurozone still takes decisions by unanimous consent.

"I respect the sovereignty of one member of our union," he said after talks with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

But, he added, "(when) one parliament does not want to take some decisions, I hope that that parliament also respects the sovereignty of the 16 others that want some decisions to be taken."

The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, wants to end the unanimous consent rule for certain decisions, notably those related to the EFSF, the eurozone's bailout fund.

The eurozone is often criticised for acting too slow in the two-year-old debt crisis that is now threatening to plunge the world into a new recession.

The crisis has put pressure on the EU to deepen its economic integration, with moves toward a federal union despite fears among eurosceptics that Brussels is chipping away at national sovereignty.

"We need to have a more effective way of deciding in the euro area and the European Union if we want to be credible to the markets, to the investors," Barroso said.

"It's not a turf issue, it's not an ideological debate about institutions, it's the need to have effective decisions."