EU Commission wants to end the right of veto

by Thomas Oysmüller*

(15 May 2026) (CH-S) Through the rose-tinted glasses of the Swiss media, the EU appears as a harmless but agreeable “partner” which, whilst having its minor issues, is on the whole reliable. Unfortunately, this picture does not correspond with the rapid developments taking place in Brussels. The European Commission is pushing with all its might to silence dissenting voices and centralise power in Brussels. A strategically crucial step in this direction is the abolition of the unanimity principle. This would amount to a total sell-out for small and smaller states within the European Union.

For some time now, resistance has come only from Central Europe – the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, and occasionally Croatia or Slovenia. One can only hope that the new Hungarian President, Peter Magyar, will continue to represent his country’s interests as successfully as his predecessor. Thomas Oysmüller from the internet platform tkp.at analyses the situation following Viktor Orbán’s defeat at the polls.

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The European Commission is immediately using its election victory in Hungary to act against the right of veto. The aim is to permanently strip the (small) member states of their power in matters of foreign policy.

It is telling, not only what really matters to the European Commission, but also what really bothered them about Viktor Orbán: Nation states that want to push through their own interests in EU foreign policy. Immediately after Orbán’s defeat, Ursula von der Leyen called for an end to the veto right.

Orbán had repeatedly used this to block the European Commission, at least in the short term – including on the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession. Von der Leyen hailed the result as a “day to celebrate” and a “victory for fundamental freedoms”. She announced plans to swiftly “integrate” the new government under Peter Magyar.

The Financial Times has already reported on what this means: apparently, Brussels has sent Magyar a list of 28 conditions. As soon as these are met, the EU will release the tens of billions in EU funds that have been blocked for years, and which have hit the Hungarian economy hard. But that is not all. She intends to use her election victory to switch from the principle of unanimity to qualified majority voting. Something that Viktor Orbán himself had quite clearly prevented until now.

However, this will not please many other states either, though whether one of them actually opposes Brussels or merely complains is another matter. “The switch to qualified majority voting in foreign policy is an important step towards avoiding systemic deadlocks such as those we have experienced in the past,” von der Leyen tells the member states. Ultra-pro-EU governments will support von der Leyen, such as Austria. Large states like France and Germany want this change anyway, to safeguard their interests against the smaller member states.

MEP Martin Sonneborn sharply criticises the plans: “And whilst you hear one thing and then another about Hungary, you would do better to look urgently towards Brussels, where von der Leyen is pushing ahead with the project of misappropriating the EU, raping the European treaties and finally disempowering the nation states, as if there were no tomorrow. A project that has never been anything other than your own disempowerment, dear citizens, which is, of course, reliably veiled in the ugliest possible way under this Commission President.”

Von der Leyen’s plans require a treaty amendment, the consent of all 27 Member States. Hungary’s veto has been broken, Slovakia is isolated, one hears very little EU criticism from Andrej Babiš of the Czech Republic, and moreover, Brussels has the means and tools to put pressure on sceptical governments.

* Thomas Oysmüller, born in 1990, studied philosophy and social sciences, is a freelance journalist and used to work for the German online radio station detektor.fm, for a few years at zackzack.at and for smaller newspapers.

Source: https://tkp.at/2026/04/15/kommission-will-ende-des-vetorechts/, 15 April 2026

(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)