Both the filibuster in the
U.S. Senate and the veto in the European Council reflect the act that the respective
states were sovereign and retain a portion of that governmental sovereignty
that has not been delegated to the respective Unions. But whereas the American
filibuster is compatible with a federal system based on dual-sovereignty
(states and union), the European veto is not; rather, each state having a veto is
at home in a confederation, which is characterized by the states retaining
their sovereignty rather than having given up some in becoming a state. In April
2026 shortly after Viktor Orbán had lost his bid for re-election in the E.U. state
of Hungary, the E.U.’s foreign minister argued publicly that the states’ veto
in the European Council (and the Council of Ministers) runs contrary to the
democratic principle of majority rule. The prerogative of retained and residual
governmental sovereignty was essentially being pitted against a fundamental principle
of democracy.
The full essay is at "On Retaining the States’ Veto-Power in the European Council."