The EU must increase its support for Ukraine and move ahead swiftly on its integration into the EU. The European leaders should not give in to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's blackmail, the European Green Party comments on the historic EU leaders' summit in Brussels.
The attempts by the Hungarian Prime Minister to blackmail the European Union, and block aid to Ukraine and its accession to the EU, are deplorable. These cynical machinations undermine the trust of European citizens in the EU institutions.
European Green co-presidents Thomas Waitz and Mélanie Vogel comment: “This case, where a single leader can act as a Trojan horse for Putin, and block the whole process of helping Ukraine, shows once again that the need for unanimity among European member states on foreign policy issues prevents the EU from taking the right decisions”, Waitz and Vogel say.
At the Conference on the Future of Europe, European citizens gave a clear message that they want more power for the European Parliament, and an end to national vetoes on foreign policy. In the Council, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have all called for European unity, and an end to vetoes on foreign policy.
"The European Green Party is in favour of ending the risk of national vetoes on foreign policy, by replacing the unanimity rule by a qualified majority voting rule. This will be one of the proposals in the Green Election Manifesto, our political platform for the next European elections," Waitz and Vogel said.
Orbán's attempts at blackmail are also further proof of the danger of far-right autocrats. “They set aside all ethics and turn politics into a dirty business. Whether it is Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), Geert Wilders (PVV) in the Netherlands or Marine Le Pen (RN) in France, we must prevent these anti-European autocrats from coming to power. Europe must be united to ensure the security of Ukraine, and of Europe as such - and to push the US to keep their level of support as well. So make a plan to go vote in the European elections from 6 to 9 June 2024 to defend your freedom," conclude Waitz and Vogel.