00:02A group of 11 European Union countries demands an end to the obstructive vetoes that have paralyzed the bloc's external
00:10action in recent years.
00:12Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden
00:20argue in a letter addressed to High Representative Kayakalas that the principle of sincere cooperation must take precedence.
00:28They also call to move from unanimity to qualified majority, to replace vetoes with constructive abstention
00:35and to refrain from linking foreign policy decisions to substantially unrelated matters.
00:41Under EU rules, foreign policy is governed by unanimity, which means one single country can at any time tie the
00:49hands of the other 26 member states.
00:51Before losing power in April, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban regularly used his veto power to extract concessions and advance
00:59his interests.
01:00Earlier this year, Orban triggered an unprecedented crisis when he suddenly blocked a 90 billion euros loan for Ukraine
01:08over an unrelated dispute with Kiev involving the Druzhba Hall pipeline.
01:12Thanks very much for all!
01:12Bye for now!
01:15Bye bye!
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