Everything had long been approved. Even before Christmas, EU heads of state and government had agreed on new financial aid for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. But now Viktor Orbán is once again standing in the way and blocking the aid. Aid that Orbán is not even participating in. The Hungarian prime minister wants to force Ukraine to allow Russian oil to flow through the Druzhba pipeline across Ukrainian territory to Hungary again. 

In doing so, Orbán is once again playing into the Kremlin’s hands and jeopardizing Europe’s security. But the EU has ways to fight back. 

What can the EU do?

Abolish unanimity: A design flaw in the EU gives heads of government such as Orbán a lot of power. In the area of foreign and security policy, the principle of unanimity applies. This means that the veto of a single country is enough to block decisions. If a majority of votes were sufficient in future, Europe would be more capable of acting.

Withdraw voting rights: Member states that violate European fundamental values can have their voting rights in the Council withdrawn. Hungary has long fulfilled these conditions with its violations of the rule of law and solidarity within the EU. The EP already initiated proceedings to this effect in 2018. 

Daniel Freund, Member of the European Parliament for the Greens:

“Viktor Orbán has turned blackmail into a business model. If Brussels does not comply with his wishes, he blocks important decisions. This must stop. It is time to withdraw Hungary’s vote in the Council. If a member state violates fundamental European values—such as democracy, the rule of law, and solidarity within the EU—then the Council can suspend the voting rights of the member state in question. This will take away Orbán’s most important political weapon. Europe has allowed itself to be blackmailed for long enough. The security of Ukraine and Europe must not be jeopardized for the sake of Orbán’s failing election campaign.”