Hungary's Election Concludes, EU Aims to Accelerate Reform of Consensus Decision-Making Mechanism

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lost the parliamentary election to Peter Magyar, ending his 16-year tenure. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on EU member states to advance EU foreign policy reform and adopt a Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) system. The current EU decision-making mechanism requires unanimous consent from all 27 member states, allowing any single country to block proposals. The Orban government in Hungary had repeatedly opposed proposals for aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. In December last year, EU leaders reached an agreement to provide 90 billion euros in loans to Ukraine from 2026 to 2027. However, Hungary, which initially pledged not to join the guarantee mechanism but not to obstruct the loan, later reversed its stance, causing the policy to be stalled. During the EU leaders' summit in mid-March this year, Orban maintained his opposition to the loan, drawing criticism from several EU leaders, including European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Additionally, the EU's 20th round of sanctions against Russia is still under negotiation due to Hungary's opposition.