EU countries are considering the possibility of making decisions by majority vote
The leaders of the European Union (EU) countries are considering legal possibilities to abandon the unanimous adoption of foreign policy decisions in order to make them by a qualified majority instead, Bloomberg writes.
"A group of a dozen countries has considered unexplored legal possibilities for making decisions based on a qualified majority instead of unanimity, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg and distributed to member states before an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Copenhagen," the article says.
We are talking about making decisions in the field of foreign policy, in which most decisions require unanimity. The reason was Hungary's policy, which blocks many EU decisions aimed at helping Ukraine.
The document, distributed to EU countries, also outlines existing legal options that could be used, the agency says.
In early March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it was very expensive to support Ukraine and its army. He also agreed with US President Donald Trump that EU countries should allocate a larger percentage of GDP to their own defense.
Also on March 8, Orban said that Hungary's economy had lost €20 billion in three years of conflict in Ukraine. According to him, this was the main factor in Budapest's failure to sign an agreement with 26 EU countries, which "actually talks about the need to send more weapons and money to Ukraine."
The British newspaper Financial Times (FT) reported on March 14 that officials in Europe have again begun discussions about whether Hungary can be deprived of the right to vote because of Budapest's firm position on Russia, as the country may block joint decisions of the European Union, including those directed against Moscow. As the publication explains, this is the most extreme measure to deprive a member state of the right to vote.
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