HUNGARY’S PARLIAMENT HAS voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join Nato, bringing an end to more than 18 months of delays that have frustrated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The vote, which passed with 188 votes for and six against, came as a culmination of months of wrangling by Hungary’s allies to convince its nationalist government to lift its block on Sweden’s membership.
The government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban submitted the protocols for approving Sweden’s entry into Nato in July 2022, but the matter had stalled in parliament over opposition by governing party lawmakers.
Unanimous support among all Nato members is required to admit new countries, and Hungary is the last of the alliance’s 31 members to give its backing since Turkey ratified the request last month.
Orban, a right-wing populist who has forged close ties with Russia, has said that criticism of Hungary’s democracy by Swedish politicians had soured relations between the two countries and led to reluctance among lawmakers in his Fidesz party.
But today’s vote removed the final membership hurdle for Sweden which, along with neighbouring Finland, first applied to join the alliance in May 2022.
Addressing lawmakers before the vote, Orban said: “Sweden and Hungary’s military co-operation and Sweden’s Nato accession strengthen Hungary’s security.”
Orban criticised Hungary’s European Union and Nato allies for placing increased pressure on his government in recent months to move forward on bringing Sweden into the alliance.
“Several people tried to intervene from the outside in the settling of our disputes (with Sweden), but this did not help but rather hampered the issue,” Orban said.
“Hungary is a sovereign country, it does not tolerate being dictated by others, whether it be the content of its decisions or their timing.”
Last weekend, a bipartisan group of US senators visited Hungary and announced it would submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning Hungary’s alleged democratic backsliding and urging Orban’s government to immediately lift its block on Sweden’s trans-Atlantic integration.
But on Friday, Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, met with Orban in Hungary’s capital where they appeared to reach a decisive reconciliation after months of diplomatic tensions.
Following their meeting, the leaders announced the conclusion of a defence industry agreement that will include Hungary’s purchase of four Swedish-made JAS 39 Gripen jets and the extension of a service contract for its existing Gripen fleet.
Now that parliament has approved the Nordic nation’s bid, the president is expected to sign it in the coming days.
Sweden will then be invited to accede to the Washington Treaty and officially become Nato’s 32d member.
In the case of Finland, Turkey was the last to give the green light on 30 March last year. Finland became a Nato member on 4 April.
Reacting to the vote, Kristersson said it was a “historic day”.
“Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security,” he said in a statement shared on X.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Sweden’s membership of the military alliance would soon “make us all stronger and safer”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Sweden’s entry into the alliance will be a boost to European and global security.
The ratification by the parliament in Budapest was a “win for all of us,” Scholz said on X. “The decision strengthens our alliance and thus the security of Europe and the world,” he added.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also welcomed the news, calling it a “historic day for our alliance”.
“Sweden, we are looking forward to welcoming you to NATO very soon,” Sunak wrote on his official X account.
With reporting from Press Association
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