Hungary’s parliament to soon ratify agreement on Sweden’s accession to NATO
“The end of our conflict with Sweden is in sight. Together with Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, we have made significant progress in reestablishing trust. We are getting closer to being able to approve Sweden’s NATO membership at the start of the spring session of the parliament,” Orban stated on national television.
After the winter break, Hungary’s parliament will reconvene on February 26 for its spring session. In the summer of 2022, the Hungarian cabinet brought a bill approving Sweden’s NATO membership before the parliament. The parliament of Hungary is still the only nation in the alliance that has not approved this deal.
On January 23, Orban invited Ulf Kristersson, his Swedish counterpart, to a meeting to discuss the kingdom’s potential membership in NATO. He initially consented, but subsequently stated that he would only visit Budapest following the agreement’s ratification by the Hungarian parliament. The two leaders got together at the EU summit in Brussels on February 1.
Prior to this, the government made a pledge that Hungary would not be the final nation to veto Sweden’s NATO membership documents. Hungary is the only member of NATO whose parliament has not yet voted on accession after the Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s bid to join on January 23. Following a phone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on January 24, Orban stated that the government was in favor of Sweden joining the alliance and urged the parliament to give its approval.
The Hungarian parliament approved Finland’s NATO membership on March 27, 2023, but it delayed Sweden’s application. On May 18, 2022, the two Nordic nations simultaneously submitted applications to join NATO, claiming that the events in Ukraine had spurred their decision.
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