Overview
- Johann Wadephul, in interviews published Saturday, called for scrapping the EU’s unanimity rule in foreign and security decisions before the current parliamentary term ends.
- He said the EU should adopt qualified majority voting, arguing that recent fights over Ukraine aid and sanctions on Russia show the current system slows action.
- Hungary is blocking a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, which Wadephul cited as an example of how one government can stall a shared response.
- Budapest, led by Viktor Orbán, has also accused Ukraine of stopping the restart of Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, adding to tensions around the aid package.
- Under the unanimity rule, every EU government must agree in the Council on sensitive foreign and security matters, which lets a single member state veto a decision.