United and transparent: Hungary and Slovakia want to be deprived of the right of veto on the issue of sanctions

The European Commission is looking for ways to circumvent the vetoes of Hungary and Slovakia to extend sanctions: in particular, it is proposed to proceed to making a decision by a qualified majority instead of a unanimous one. However, Bratislava and Budapest cannot be deprived of the right to vote without their own consent, the European Parliament told Izvestia. Without changing the fundamental laws of the European Union, it is impossible to switch to a new mechanism for extending sanctions against Russia, the MEPs point out. Whether the EU will be able to change the voting mechanism and how this will affect Brussels' relations with Budapest and Bratislava is in the Izvestia article.

Hungary and Slovakia want to be deprived of the right to vote

The European Commission (EC) is once again raising the issue of circumventing the veto of Hungary and other member states on the issue of extending anti-Russian sanctions. On the eve of the meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on September 26, the EC proposed making decisions on the extension of sanctions by a qualified majority instead of unanimous approval. This was reported by Politico.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Vinogradov

To make a decision by a qualified majority in the EU Council, the support of at least 55% of the members (15 states) representing at least 65% of the EU population is required. The blocking minority must consist of at least four members of the EU Council.

"Decisions on sanctions against Russia are taken unanimously by all member states, and it is impossible to change this procedure without the consent of each member state," Tomasz Zdechowski, a member of the European Parliament, told Izvestia. — This would require amendments to the fundamental treaties, which clearly provide for the right of veto in matters of foreign and security policy. Any unilateral change would be contrary to the EU legal framework.

"Friendship" apart: what will lead to a new quarrel between Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia

Budapest accused Kiev of hitting the most important oil pipeline

The main document of the EU is now the Lisbon Treaty. According to him, the European Union makes decisions by a qualified majority on all issues except taxation, social security, as well as foreign policy and security. Tomasz Zdechowski explained that if the European Commission tried to circumvent the principle of unanimity in extending sanctions, it would be contrary to European law.

— Everything is very clear in the contract: a unanimous decision must be made. This means that it cannot be changed, even if the European Commission wants to. To do this, they need to either change the agreement or adopt a new one," MEP Thierry Mariani told Izvestia. — Obviously, this is the European Commission's dream. There are some States, such as Hungary or Slovakia, that do not always fully support the introduction of new sanctions.

Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Ardan Fuessmann

It is extremely difficult to make serious amendments to the Lisbon Treaty, as this process may encounter serious resistance within the EU. So, in 2010, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed to deprive those countries whose debt burden exceeded the limits agreed in the treaty of the right to vote. Then this proposal was rejected, and the former head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, called it unacceptable.

— It is impossible to change the structure of the Lisbon Treaty as a whole. This is one of the fundamental documents of the European Union. And all the countries that signed it have guaranteed that its change is possible only through a majority vote of all the participating EU member states. Therefore, there is a certain legal conflict and impasse here. It is possible to change the foundations of this agreement only with the participation of countries that disagree with it," Ilya Shcherbakov, an employee of the Department of International Relations and Integration Processes at the Faculty of Political Science at Moscow State University, told Izvestia.

The adoption of a new fundamental document may take years.

The 19th package of EU sanctions and a loan for Ukraine

Discussions about the need to simplify the process of adopting and extending sanctions began in 2022, when Hungary and later Slovakia began to actively use the right of veto when voting on new and extending old restrictions. Budapest and Bratislava have repeatedly stressed the ineffectiveness of anti-Russian restrictions and their harm to the European economy. Both countries oppose the EU's abrupt refusal to import nuclear fuel from Russia, as well as purchases of oil and gas.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Maxim Bogodvid

They also do not support the European Union's plan to abandon Russian fuel by the end of 2027 (REPowerEU). For example, the Hungarian authorities say that stopping Russian gas imports as part of a plan developed by the European Commission will cost the country 4% of GDP.

— They want to bring REPowerEU to the level of the law, so that it is mandatory for execution. But Hungary and Slovakia openly say during the preliminary negotiations that they will support it," Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University and a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund, told Izvestia. — Foreign policy issues are resolved only unanimously. And that is why the REPowerEU program is not accepted as mandatory.

"Friendship" ends: Hungary and Slovakia urge EC to protect oil pipeline from Ukraine

What is known about the main oil pipeline from Russia to Europe

There is a paradigm shift in the approach to the basics of voting in the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On September 26, the EU ambassadors discussed the 19th package of sanctions against Russia for the first time. However, according to media reports, Slovakia blocked it. Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Bratislava would support new punitive measures only if it received realistic proposals from the European Union on how to align Brussels' climate goals with the needs of the automotive industry (not only in Slovakia, but throughout Europe), as well as heavy industry. In addition, the Slovak prime minister said he would not approve the 19th package of sanctions without proposals to curb electricity prices in Europe.

— The proposals of the European Commission are more political than economic in nature. They are not based on sound economic logic, and at this stage we are not talking about meeting standards, but about achieving political goals," Petar Volgin, a member of the European Parliament, told Izvestia.

Photo: Global Look Press/Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

In addition, on September 26, the EU ambassadors were supposed to discuss a new €140 billion "reparation loan" to Ukraine, which would be secured from frozen Russian assets. According to Bloomberg, the EU expects to agree on it by the end of 2025 and begin transferring funds to Kiev in 2026. The EC proposes to transfer funds in tranches and use them both for "military cooperation" and for budgetary support to Kiev. To approve the decision, guarantees are needed that none of the EU countries will block sanctions against the Russian Federation. Interestingly, Belgium, the country with the largest concentration of frozen assets, opposed such an initiative.