The last obstacle to Sweden’s membership in NATO will be removed / Hungary agrees to the accession plan
| The faction of the ruling party of Hungary has removed the last obstacle for Sweden's membership in this military alliance by announcing the date of the vote in the country's parliament for Sweden's membership in NATO and announcing the approval of this plan in the voting session next week. |
The Hungarian Parliament will vote next Monday on Sweden’s membership in NATO. In this regard, the head of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Fidesz party of Hungary said: “The final vote (…) on the accession of the Kingdom of Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty (…) will be on the agenda at the February 26 session of the parliament. It added on Tuesday that the faction would support the accession process.
Hungary is the only remaining NATO member that has not yet agreed to Sweden’s membership application submitted in 2022.
The Swedish government immediately welcomed the news and announced Prime Minister Olaf Kristerson’s visit to Budapest.Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson told a press conference on Tuesday in response to a question about News Hungary said: “Of course we welcome this. Shortly afterwards, Stockholm announced that Kristerson will visit Budapest at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – this Friday and therefore ahead of the expected parliamentary approval The Swedish government announced that the agenda of the meeting with Orban will include cooperation in the field of security and defense policy between Hungary and Sweden, preparation for Hungary’s future presidency of the Council of the European Union and the strategic agenda of the European Union. . After that, a joint press conference will be held between these two officials. Orban said on the online platform X that he was happy to welcome Kristerson in Budapest.
Recently, representatives of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party made Kristerson’s visit to Budapest a condition for the approval of Sweden’s accession to NATO. Orban had invited him to the Hungarian capital in January, although it was not clear what his purpose was. The Swedish official had shown himself ready for such a trip, but stated that he actually thought it would make more sense after Hungary approved the NATO accession plan. He rejected accession talks. In his state of the nation speech on Saturday, Orban also said that Sweden has taken steps that could lead to an agreement for the northern European partner to join NATO. to be Orban did not say what actions they are going to take. State-affiliated media then reported, without citing sources, that Hungary was to receive four Gripen fighter jets from Sweden. No details about the apparently planned operation have been released. Hungary planned to buy these weapons from Sweden from 2022. The country currently has 14 military aircraft of this type from Sweden under a leasing contract that expires in 2026.
Sweden in May 2022 in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, along with the neighboring country Finland itself applied for NATO membership. Finland was able to join the military alliance in April 2023, while Sweden had to wait due to the opposition of Turkey and Hungary. At the end of January, Ankara gave the green light for Sweden’s accession.
However, Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Kristerson has announced that he will travel to Budapest before the Hungarian parliament approves Sweden’s membership in NATO.
| Publisher | Tasnim News |
