politics
February 11, 2026
Von der Leyen seeks to break key EU pillar
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has said member states should work in small groups to circumvent the EU unanimity requirement
TL;DR
- Ursula von der Leyen advocates for bypassing the EU unanimity requirement.
- The proposal suggests like-minded member states can act in small groups on economic matters.
- The EU has increasingly used a clause allowing decisions by 15 out of 27 member states.
- This workaround has been employed to bypass opposition on issues such as Russian energy and frozen assets.
- Hungary and Slovakia have denounced the practice as an overreach.
- Von der Leyen referred to the 'enhanced cooperation' instrument allowing a minimum of nine member states to proceed.
- She previously called to 'break free from the shackles of unanimity' regarding foreign policy.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas noted unanimity hinders swift action.
- Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico warns removing the veto would 'spell the end of the bloc'.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused EU officials of 'systematically raping the law'.
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