Hungary today approved Sweden’s NATO membership nearly two years after it applied to join the western military alliance, ending months of gridlock and diplomatic wrangling.
Sweden has been a neutral country until now, and the vote, which took place in Hungary’s parliament, followed a meeting on Friday between Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, where they agreed to put aside their differences.
Turkey approved the Nordic country’s NATO ratification last month, leaving Hungary as the last remaining country to do so – despite Orbán’s assurances that it will not be a final NATO member.
The reversal came after the leader of the ruling Fidesz parliamentary group suggested last Sunday that the issue be raised in the Hungarian parliament.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, in a historic U-turn 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 Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has forged close ties to Russia.
Since the parliament approved the move, the decision will be sent to Hungary’s interim president Laszlo Kever, who then has five days to sign it and send it to the US State Department in Washington. When Finland, which applied to join NATO in May 2022 at the same time as Sweden, officially joined in July last year, this process took three days.
