Europe’s top court has ruled that Hungary violated European Union law by voting against the bloc’s agreed position on cannabis classification during a United Nations meeting, finding Budapest breached the principle of sincere cooperation and the EU’s exclusive external competence.
The Court of Justice of the European Union said Hungary “failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law” when, at a 2020 session of the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs, it voted against removing cannabis from a list of substances that also includes deadly opioids such as heroin. The vote came despite an EU common position adopted by a qualified majority of member states.
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The European Commission launched infringement proceedings after the UN vote, arguing Hungary’s no ballot ran counter to the bloc’s coordinated stance. The Luxembourg-based court agreed, ruling that Hungary could not contest the legality of the common position in order to justify its divergence and that it acted in breach of the duty to support the Union’s objectives in international forums.
“Hungary, which cannot argue that that common position is unlawful, infringed the European Union’s exclusive external competence in that field, and acted in breach of the principle of sincere cooperation,” the court said. Under that principle, member states must facilitate the Union’s work and refrain from any action that could jeopardize common objectives, including during votes at international organizations.
Hungary condemned the decision and signaled it would not soften its approach. “Drug liberalisation efforts” are “misguided and dangerous,” the government said in a statement sent to AFP, adding: “We will not bow to any pressure that would interfere with our national drug policy or lead the country towards drug liberalisation.”
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government has long promoted a “zero tolerance” drug policy at home. The dispute underscores broader tensions between Budapest and Brussels, with Hungary, a central European nation of about 9.5 million, frequently clashing with EU institutions on legal norms, rule-of-law issues and foreign policy.
While the ruling arose from a single vote at the U.N. narcotics body, it carries broader implications for how the EU projects a unified voice on the global stage. When the Union adopts a common position—especially in areas tied to existing EU rules—member states are bound to uphold it and to avoid steps that undermine it. The court’s judgment serves as a reminder that EU coordination in international organizations is not optional, even for governments that dissent from the majority view.
The decision does not alter Hungary’s domestic drug laws. It clarifies that the breach concerned the manner in which a member state represented the Union’s stance externally, not the substance of national policies. Still, the case adds to the list of legal and institutional flashpoints between the Commission and Hungary and could shape how the bloc manages internal dissent in future multilateral votes.
As the Commission polices respect for EU common positions abroad, the ruling strengthens its hand and signals that, on sensitive files such as drug control and public health, fragmentation at the international level carries legal consequences back in Brussels.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
