Hungarian Parliament Ratifies Sweden's NATO Application: What It Means

On Monday, February 26, the Hungarian parliament officially voted in favor of Sweden's membership in NATO. "188 members of parliament voted in favor and 6 voted against.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the decision on social networking site X. He noted that Sweden would become the 32nd ally of the Alliance and "make us all stronger and safer."

The document is now expected to be signed by the Hungarian president and published in the official gazette.

Hungary was the last country to block Sweden's accession to NATO. This decision is important for Ukraine, as it was a prerequisite for providing our country with Swedish 4th-generation JAS39 Gripen fighters.

Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the Hungarian parliament would soon be ready to ratify Sweden's membership in NATO.

"This is good news that our dispute with Sweden will soon be resolved. We are moving in the direction that at the beginning of the spring session of the parliament we can ratify Sweden's accession to NATO," Orban said on February 18.

He also said that he and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had taken steps to "restore trust" between the two countries, without specifying what those steps were.

It should be noted that Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, which was a historic shift in its security policy caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

– On January 30, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Sweden would have to wait again for Hungary to ratify its NATO membership application, which remained the only country that did not agree to the Kingdom's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

– On February 5, members of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party did not attend an extraordinary parliamentary session, which was scheduled to vote on Sweden's application to join NATO.

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