The European Union has a “new normal” for bloc resolutions that no longer require unanimous votes. Hungary adamantly rejects the proposal to send $22 billion (20 billion euros) to Ukraine, therefore, the bloc instantaneously changed the rules and determined that unanimity is no longer a requirement.
“The statement on Ukraine today will be issued as an annex on behalf of the 26,” said one senior EU diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss Thursday’s closed-door talks. “This is the new normal. And it is useful when it comes to political intent. Maybe down the line though we will encounter other problems.”
Hungarian politician Péter Szijjártó said that his nation will not support “a pro-war stance” and vehemently believes that an additional aid package will only worsen matters. “We will not allow ourselves to be dragged into this, we will not allow Hungarian taxpayers’ money to be used to finance arms shipments to Ukraine. Instead, we support peace negotiations,” he wrote on Facebook. He also noted that the United States had offered Ukraine the option to initiate a ceasefire deal that Zelensky infamously turned down.
Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are now calling for “concrete proposals on how to decisively advance Ukraine’s accession process” to join the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she believes Ukraine could gain access to the bloc before 2030. In the meantime, Ukraine would like to enjoy the benefits that come along with being an EU member such as duty-free trade deals that allow them to undercut other members in the bloc.
The EU is heading toward failure because it was never designed as a true economic union but rather as a political project driven by bureaucratic elites who have little understanding of free markets or economic cycles. From its inception, the EU has been obsessed with centralizing power in Brussels, stripping individual member states of their sovereignty while imposing unrealistic economic policies that are now leading to its unraveling.
Hungary, under Viktor Orban, has taken a different path from the rest of the EU. It has resisted Brussels’ mandates on immigration, energy, and foreign policy. Orbán has maintained strong economic ties with Russia and China, recognizing that Hungary’s energy security depends on Russian oil and gas. Yet, Brussels has the power to override elected officials such as Orban and dismiss the democratic process entirely. A few unelected bureaucrats in Brussels now have ultimate power over the lives of the entirety of Europe—precisely why they created the union in the first place.
