Hurdle overcome

Hungary votes on Sweden’s NATO membership

With the ratification, the Fidesz party gave up its boycott of Sweden, which has been ongoing since 2022.(Bild: AP)

The Hungarian parliament has now ratified Sweden's application to join NATO. 188 MPs voted in favor, only six from the far-right party "Mi Hazánk" (Our Homeland) voted against. This clears the way for Sweden to join the Western military alliance.

The Fidesz party, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament, had already spoken out in favor beforehand. "Today we (...) will support Sweden's accession to NATO", said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the start of the meeting. At the same time, he stated that he saw "no military solution" in Ukraine, but only an end to the war through negotiations.

In the wake of the war in Ukraine, the governments of Sweden and Finland applied for membership of the defense alliance in May 2022. Finland was accepted as the 31st member in April 2023. Sweden fought even longer for ratification by the governments of Turkey and Hungary.

Members of the Hungarian parliament in their session on Monday(Bild: AP)

The Turkish government ended its blockade in January. The US government then sold F16 fighter jets to the Turkish government. Hungary's government also signaled the green light a few days ago. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson visited his counterpart Viktor Orban in Budapest on Friday. It was also announced that Hungary would be purchasing four new Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets (see video above).

From the left: Ulf Kristersson and Viktor Orban(Bild: AP)

Increased pressure
In recent months, the pressure on Orban to allow Sweden into the military alliance has grown. "Reaching an agreement on defense and military capabilities will definitely help to restore trust between the two countries," said Kristersson in Budapest. Bilateral disputes have been resolved, Orban confirmed on Monday. This had been done "in a dignified manner". Attempts from outside to intervene in these disputes had not been helpful, however.

The MPs voted in the afternoon. The ratification still has to be formally submitted to the US State Department in Washington. Official accession as the 32nd member would be possible a few days later.