Hungarian Parliament to Ratify Sweden’s NATO Accession on February 26
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party has announced that its parliamentary group will officially ratify Sweden’s NATO accession on February 26. Mate Kocsis, leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, shared the news on his Facebook page and revealed that the group “wishes to support” Sweden’s accession to NATO. The final vote on Sweden’s NATO accession is set to be included in the agenda of the first spring session of the National Assembly on February 26.
With Fidesz controlling over two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly, it is highly likely that the Parliament will vote in favor of Sweden’s bid to join NATO. This comes after Hungary has delayed ratifying Sweden’s NATO accession for over a year, making it the last NATO member yet to do so. The delay has been linked to internal debates within the Fidesz parliamentary group over Swedish criticism of Hungary’s rule of law. However, these disputes are expected to be addressed during forthcoming discussions between Orban and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
In an effort to resolve the matter, Kristersson is scheduled to visit Budapest on Friday to discuss defense and security cooperation, as well as Hungary’s upcoming EU presidency preparations. Orban’s press chief, Bertalan Havasi, confirmed the meeting and the agenda topics on Tuesday. The visit is expected to pave the way for the resolution of the internal debates within the Fidesz parliamentary group over Sweden’s NATO accession.
The announcement of Hungary’s parliamentary group’s support for Sweden’s NATO accession comes after a period of deliberation and internal disagreements. With the upcoming visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest, it is expected that the two sides will have constructive discussions to address the outstanding concerns and pave the way for Hungary’s long-awaited ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership on February 26.
