Kaja Kallas criticises Hungary’s veto impact on EU democratic principles

The instrumentalisation of vetoes undermines the democratic principles of the European Union as it hijacks the interests of 26 in the name of one single holdout, High Representative Kaja Kallas told EU News in an exclusive interview.

Kallas was reflecting on the end of Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in uninterrupted power, during which the Hungarian prime minister frequently frustrated his fellow leaders with his near-constant, overlapping vetoes.

“We have to be clear that, actually, the EU treaties do not foresee the veto. The treaties are based on unanimity — that everybody agrees,” Kallas told EU News in an interview recorded on the sidelines of an informal summit of EU leaders in Cyprus.

“We have seen recently that when 26 countries want something, and one does not, then we end up doing what that one country wants, not what the 26 want. So it is not really democracy.”

EU treaties provide a legal pathway to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting. However, in a significant Catch-22, such a shift itself requires unanimous consent.

“We definitely also have to look at our working methods to be more effective, because in this geopolitical world we need to be credible — and for that we need to be united and able to take decisions,” she added.

As the EU’s Foreign policy chief — an area where unanimity is required — Kallas has dealt first-hand with many of Orbán’s vetoes. At times, she had to issue statements in her own name after joint communiqués proved impossible.

Following this difficult period, the High Representative said she was “very hopeful” about having “good cooperation” with the incoming government of Péter Magyar, who won Hungary’s elections on a pledge to restore ties between Budapest and Brussels, currently at an all-time low.

Magyar has said the veto remains a “valid option”, provided it is used constructively.

“We cannot run ahead of events. First, we need to have the new Hungarian government in place, which will probably happen in mid-May,” Kallas said.

“Then we will see whether we can revisit the decisions that have been blocked before.”

‘A geopolitical choice’

This week saw the lifting of two Hungarian vetoes: one on the €90 billion loan to Ukraine and another on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia.

Orbán, though, seems intent on leaving his veto on Ukraine’s accession process, in place for almost two years, as an inheritance for Magyar. As a result, Kyiv has yet to open a single cluster of negotiations.

The incoming prime minister has expressed opposition to fast-tracking talks with Kyiv, a view shared by other member states, who worry any shortcuts will undermine the credibility and integrity of the enlargement policy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, keeps pushing for a “clear date” for his country’s admission under an accelerated timetable. He has also rejected overtures for half-baked membership as an alternative to fully-fledged rights.

“Ukraine does not need symbolic membership in the EU. Ukraine is defending itself — and it is also defending Europe. And it is not doing so symbolically — people are really dying,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week before joining EU leaders in Cyprus.

“We are defending shared European values. I believe we deserve full membership.”

Kaja Kallas, who has been a strong supporter of Kyiv’s ambitions, said it was important to “work on both sides” — public opinion in member states and legal reforms in Ukraine — and to shift the narrative around candidate countries to highlight their potential contributions to the bloc.

“We need to talk about what we gain from these countries joining,” she said.

“A bigger Europe, a stronger Europe in terms of defence, and also a larger single market that benefits our companies — all of this makes us a more credible geopolitical power in the world,” she added. “It is always a geopolitical choice.”

Ukraine, Kallas noted, has by far the largest army in Europe, meaning that “Europe would be stronger if Ukraine were with us.”