Hungary’s resistance spurs EU plans for quicker action on Ukraine

The European Union is exploring ways to act more swiftly on foreign policy issues, an area where most decisions currently require unanimity. This requirement has often allowed individual member states, notably Hungary, to block initiatives supporting Ukraine and opposing Russia.

Ahead of an informal gathering of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen on August 30, a group of about a dozen member states circulated a document outlining unexplored legal avenues to allow qualified majority voting in certain foreign policy areas instead of requiring full unanimity, according to Bloomberg. The EU did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi advocated for expanded use of qualified majority decision-making in his 2024 report on European competitiveness, a position echoed by ECB President Christine Lagarde.

Proponents argue that such a change would enable quicker, more decisive responses in an era of growing geopolitical competition while preventing a single member from blocking measures widely supported by the bloc’s 27 nations.

Hungary has consistently opposed EU initiatives related to Ukraine, from allocating funds to the country to supporting its potential EU accession, causing repeated diplomatic friction. Most recently, Budapest refused to sign a statement condemning Russian strikes on Kyiv that killed 25 people and damaged the EU mission in the city.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas criticised Hungary’s ongoing blockage of a €6.6 billion ($7.1 billion) fund intended to reimburse member states for equipment donated to Ukraine. Once released, the funds could be used to purchase US equipment for Ukraine under a NATO-coordinated initiative. “All the countries today are raising this issue of unblocking. You do not have to be part of it, but let others then do it,” Kallas said, noting that Hungary had rejected multiple “ways out” proposed by the EU.

The circulated document details current legal options to enable certain foreign policy decisions to proceed by qualified majority while preserving member states’ “safety net” rights. It emphasizes that consensus remains the cornerstone of EU decision-making, even as the bloc seeks mechanisms to act more swiftly in critical situations.

By Tamilla Hasanova