The Hungarian parliament has finally approved Sweden’s accession to NATO after 18 months of waiting, bne IntelliNews reports.
A proposal to expand NATO, including that of Sweden, was introduced in parliament in July 2022, but was frozen for more than a year and a half.
188 out of 199 MPs voted in favour and 6 opposed. Within days, the ratification will be signed by the country’s parliament speaker and newly appointed president Tamás Sulyok, who will succeed outgoing leader Katalin Novák.
Sweden applied for membership three months after the war in Ukraine broke out, but faced many obstacles. Hungary became the latest NATO member to approve Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, following Turkey’s endorsement a month earlier.
After Ankara announced its plans to go ahead with the ratification in late January, Budapest imposed a new condition of a visit to the capital by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Initially, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom rejected the invitation, arguing that there was no reason to negotiate NATO membership.
Kristersson accepted Orbán’s invitation to visit Budapest last week, with the two parties signing a defence co-operation agreement on Friday outlining the acquisition of four new JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets for the Hungarian Air Force.
The Orbán government’s stance left analysts puzzled, given that Hungary had no clear advantage in obstructing a major geopolitical decision that would strengthen Europe’s security.
Some observers stated that the Hungarian prime minister wanted to demonstrate his power to his core supporters, and the defence agreement with Sweden served as his “claim victory.”
