I think you are conflating several points here.

I doubt anybody loves the veto - it's a terrible solution and a better one would be welcome.

The big problem here is: The EU works by essentially taking some sovereignity from its members. However, still pretty much everything the EU decides has to be codified into national law by the member countries. You need the active help of every involved country to truly get something passed.

That's why the veto is there - it's incredibly hard to get a sovereign country to put something into law which they didn't decide on.

The only real alternative would be something akin to a federalized state - but good luck getting countries to completely give away all their sovereignity.

The veto isn't there because it's great, it's there because nations like to decide things they codify into national law.

The EU is still an associaton of countries, not a giant single country.

And if poland wouldn't protect hungary, the veto wouldn't even be an issue. Just saying. It's poland's veto that is the problem, not hungary's.