I’m sort of torn on this. I really like the idea of all member states having an equal say on things, but at the same time Hungary and Poland’s fairly extreme stance is holding the whole bloc back.
Is there a democratic way to solve this? I’m not aware of one.
The unanimity provisions were put in place precisely so that individual nations would not have their sovereignty eroded over time. It is likely that many nations would never have joined the EU without such protections in place.
This is a good point. I suppose the EU must as a matter of principle go at the speed of its weakest link, even if that link is being weak on purpose. So any deeper integration has to happen separately (via eg. the eurozone or shenghen)
I fear this might be the case. The other option is full federalisation, but things are not going so well over in America either.