The Hungarian Parliament called unresolved the issue of accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO

Deputies of the State Assembly (unicameral parliament) of Hungary did not make a final decision on the approval of applications from Sweden and Finland to join NATO. This was stated by the speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Laszlo Köver.

According to Mr. Köver, on March 7 and 8, a Hungarian parliamentary delegation will travel to Helsinki and Stockholm to discuss controversial issues before the Hungarian Parliament votes on Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Alliance.

“Such a trip is necessary because members of the pro-government factions are worried and doubtful, and they do not believe that this issue will be resolved automatically,” Mr. Koever said on Hungarian television (quoted by RIA Novosti).

Laszlo Köver noted that the deputies of the National Assembly are unhappy that in recent years Finnish and Swedish politicians have “behaved rudely” towards Hungary and have accused the country of violating democratic norms and the rule of law. “They do not have the right to speak out about the domestic policy of Hungary and give it an assessment,” the speaker added.

Mr. Koever emphasized that if Finland and Sweden want to join NATO, then for this they need to gain the trust of all members of the alliance, but they have “fundamentally undermined it”, and therefore “it is necessary to clarify the question of what will happen next.”

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022. The decision regarding Sweden stalled amid the action in Stockholm with the burning of the Koran at the Turkish embassy. According to the Associated Press, on March 2, the Hungarian parliament once again postponed the vote on the ratification of Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO. It should take place no earlier than March 20.

For more details, see Kommersant’s article “Ankara Experienced Stockholm Syndrome.”

Milena Kostereva