Hungary set to finally approve Sweden joining Nato
Hungary’s parliament is finally expected to vote in favour of Sweden’s Nato membership – bringing to an end months of limbo and diplomatic wrangling – nearly two years after the historically neutral country applied to join the western military alliance.
The vote, expected to take place in Budapest on Monday between 4pm and 6pm local time (3pm and 5pm GMT), follows Friday’s meeting between the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán, in which they agreed to put aside their differences – saying they were “prepared to die for each other”.
The two countries also signed a new military agreement during a warm yet tightly stage-managed joint press conference in the Hungarian capital, in which Sweden promised to sell four new Gripen planes to add to the 14 Hungary has previously purchased.
Turkey gave its approval to the Nordic country’s Nato ratification last month, leaving Hungary the last remaining country to do so – despite assurances from Orbán that it would not be the final Nato member to sign.
The turnaround came after the ruling Fidesz parliamentary group leader suggested last week that the issue be raised in Hungary’s parliament on Monday when it reopens after its winter break.
Sweden applied to join Nato in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, in a historic shift in its security policy prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that February. The delays have led to frustration among members of the alliance with Orbán, a rightwing nationalist who has forged close ties with Russia.
The vote on Sweden is understood to be third on the day’s parlia
mentary agenda, coming after an opening speech by Orbán on priorities for the spring and the submission of the outgoing president Katalin Novák’s application to leave the job after her recent resignation.
If, as anticipated, the parliament votes yes, which requires a simple majority, the decision will then be sent to Hungary’s interim president, László Kövér, who then has five days to sign the decision and send it to the US state department in Washington. When Finland, who applied to join Nato at the same time as Sweden in May 2022 and officially joined in July last year this process took three days.
Sweden’s application to join Nato got held up amid objections from Turkey and Hungary.
According to Nato protocol, the US government must be notified of member states’ ratification of a new country. The secretary general then invites the new country to accede to the treaty, which is then sent to the US state department, which formally invites them to become a Nato member.
After Kristersson’s visit to Budapest, Orbán hailed “a new phase of cooperation between Hungary and Sweden”.
Asked by journalists what had made his country drop its opposition to Sweden joining Nato, Orbán said:
“Being members of Nato means that we are prepared to die for each other. It is based on mutual respect. Taking that process at an appropriate pace has been wise.”
It marked a landmark moment for moderate Kristersson’s centre-right coalition government, backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, which has been grappling with the Nato issue ever since taking over from social democrat Magdalena Andersson’s government in 2022.
Kristersson said on Friday: “We respect each other’s differences and sometimes reach good compromises. Now we are also entering into joint Nato cooperation with precisely the attitude of being prepared to fight for each other in a dangerous time.”