Hungary postpones approval of Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications

Hungary's ruling Fidesz Party and its partner, the Christian Democratic Party, want to postpone next week 's parliamentary session, which means Hungary will continue to delay ratifying Finland and Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Agnes Vadai, a member of parliament for the Left Democratic Alliance, said on March 14.

In a statement on Facebook , Ms. Vadai said she had received a notice from Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen that the ruling Fidesz Party and the Christian Democratic Party wanted to postpone the meeting, which was scheduled to take place on March 20.

For its part, the ruling Fidesz party has also confirmed that parliament will not meet next week due to delays in negotiations with the European Union (EU). Hungary and the EU have been at odds for months over the EU's delay in funding aid to the country and its demands for anti-corruption reforms. Fidesz is expected to make a decision on Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO, after a parliamentary delegation that visited the two countries provided an assessment of the visit.

According to the Hungarian Parliament Press Office, the legislature can only convene a new meeting on March 27.

The ratification of Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications has been stalled in the Hungarian parliament since July 2022. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party has expressed support for ratifying Finland and Sweden's NATO membership applications, but last week, Fidesz MP Csaba Hende said concerns from some lawmakers still needed to be addressed.

On the same day, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the possibility of Finland joining NATO before Sweden was increasing, as Stockholm's efforts faced opposition from Türkiye.

Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Kristersson stressed that Türkiye's willingness to accept Finland's membership application in recent weeks, but its hesitation in Sweden's case, suggests that Ankara will approve Finland's application first. However, he was optimistic that Sweden would still become a NATO member, but the important thing was when.

VNA

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