BRATISLAVA, April 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The leaders of Hungary and Slovakia on Monday warned the European Union against changing the bloc's unanimity rule, after some diplomats proposed the measure to circumvent Budapest's opposition to Ukraine's membership bid.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico are EU's most Kremlin-friendly leaders and have often found themselves at odds with the other members of the 27-member bloc on the issue of Ukraine following Russia's invasion three years ago.

The nationalist Orban, Moscow's closest EU ally, has refused to send Ukraine military aid and has never hidden his opposition to Kyiv's EU accession bid, throwing up a series of objections and obstacles.

EU's rules stipulate that decisions on membership require unanimity.

Faced with Orban's opposition, 14 of the bloc's 27 member states currently support a change in the rules, according to EU's enlargement commissioner Marta Kos.

However, chances of such a reform are slim given that it requires a unanimous vote.

On Monday Orban warned against changing the rules.

"Unanimity on foreign policy issues cannot be abandoned, because that would effectively remove the sovereignty of our states," he said, adding that Slovakia and Hungary were "constructive EU members".

"Imagine if unanimity were not required on foreign policy issues... if some member states were unable to represent their interests, we could be dragged into a war," Orban said during an official visit to Bratislava.

Fico, who like Orban is close to the Kremlin and opposes sending military aid to Kyiv, said that "abolishing the veto is a step towards the abolition of the European Union."

"Don't take steps that can lead to the destruction of the EU," he said, urging EU's "big players to listen to us."

Launched as a powerful statement days after Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine's bid for EU membership is currently at a standstill, with the long and complex process requiring unanimous approval from all member states at dozens of different stages.