Lithuanian FM says Hungary has gone too far with vetoes on EU foreign affairs decisions

"Almost all of our discussions and needed solutions and decisions by (the) EU are being blocked by just one country. So we have to start seeing this as a systematic approach towards any efforts by (the) EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs." – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Monday as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Reuters reports.

EU foreign policy decisions require unanimous support from all 27 member states, but Hungary is blocking decisions on EU military aid to Ukraine, the launch of EU membership negotiations with Kyiv, as well as decisions about Georgia and Armenia, Landsbergis said.

"We looked into this and apparently about 41% of resolutions by (the) EU on Ukraine have been blocked by Hungary," he said. "It has gone very, very far," Landsbergis added. “We have to find a way, really, as a community to work around this.”

The Estonian and Italian foreign ministers also expressed similar concerns ahead of the meeting. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, for example, said: "Every time we are coming here, we have to convince Hungary about not blocking very important initiatives." Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also told journalists that they were “against the blocking. We want to move on.”

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also attended the meeting but declined to speak to reporters.

This is not the first time Landsbergis has criticised Hungarian foreign policy. In 2022, he said the Hungarian government was using a Russian narrative when it claimed that the sanctions were not working.