As of: 03/27/2023 6:57 p.m
Finland has once again come a step closer to joining NATO. Hungary was the penultimate member country to vote to ratify Finland’s accession protocol. No vote was taken on Sweden’s application for membership.
Hungary’s parliament has overwhelmingly ratified Finland’s NATO accession protocol. 182 MEPs voted for the adoption, six against. There were no abstentions.
Hungary is the penultimate NATO country to ratify Finland’s accession. The analogous accession protocol for Sweden has been debated in parliament, but the vote on it has not yet been placed on the agenda.
Orban seems to be in consultation with Erdogan
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban seems to be coordinating closely with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has so far only approved Finland’s NATO membership, but not Sweden’s.
Orban, who makes all the key decisions in the country himself, has repeatedly spoken out in favor of the two northern European countries joining NATO. However, he repeatedly had the debate and the vote on ratification postponed under various pretexts. Among other things, he complained that Swedish and Finnish politicians and the media had unjustly criticized Hungary for deficiencies in the rule of law and corruption.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland decided last year to apply for admission to NATO after a long period of military non-alignment. Turkey, which has to agree as one of the current 30 members, reported concerns from the outset. She accuses Sweden of a lack of action against “terrorist organizations”. Ankara is primarily concerned with the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.