defense
Hungary’s parliament votes on Sweden’s accession to NATO
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (l) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met in Budapest. photo
© Marton Monus/dpa
Sweden could soon become a NATO member: after a long delay, Hungary has signaled the green light – as the last of the 31 members of the alliance. A fighter jet deal may have helped.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for membership in NATO in May 2022. Finland was admitted to the alliance as the 31st member in April 2023. Sweden, on the other hand, fought for many months longer to get ratifications from NATO members Turkey and Hungary.
Turkey ended its blockade in January. Immediately afterwards, the US government initiated the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara. Hungary also signaled the green light a few days ago. Leading politicians from Orban’s Fidesz party had previously claimed that they were “offended” because there had been criticism of the democratic conditions in Hungary from Sweden. This destroyed bilateral trust. Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson must restore this by visiting Budapest. In addition, they demand that Sweden be treated with the same respect as Turkey, especially since the Swede also traveled to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end his blockade, Fidesz said.
Pressure on Orban has recently increased
Kristersson came to Budapest to meet Orban on Friday. It was announced that Hungary would buy four new Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets. In addition, the two EU countries extended a maintenance and logistics agreement for the previous 14 Gripen aircraft, which Hungary has leased from Sweden since 2006 and which are due to become fully Hungarian owned in 2026, by ten years until 2036. This deal was presented by Hungary’s government-affiliated media as a victory for Hungarian diplomacy, although it remained unclear to what extent Sweden was supposed to have accommodated Hungary. Details on the financial conditions were not given.
At the same time, pressure had increased on Orban to finally let the Swedes into the alliance. Kristersson’s visit and the fighter jet deal gave both sides an opportunity to save face. Orban emphasized at the press conference with Kristersson that the defense agreement was not a condition for Hungary’s NATO ratification. Nevertheless, he added: “But of course: reaching an agreement on defense and military capacities definitely helps to restore trust between the two countries.”
Hungary’s parliament elects new head of state
Sweden has so far received the approval of 30 of the 31 NATO members combined. Even if the parliament in Budapest ratifies it, it still has to be signed by the President. This is likely to be one of the first official acts of Tamas Sulyok, whom Hungary’s parliament is likely to elect as head of state for Sweden on Monday shortly after ratification. Sulyok has no opponent and is supported by Fidesz, which has a two-thirds majority in parliament. He would succeed Katalin Novak, who resigned as head of state two weeks ago because of her involvement in a pedophilia scandal.
The Hungarian ratification must then be formally deposited with the US State Department in Washington. In the following days, Sweden could be welcomed as the 32nd member of the alliance with a ceremony in which the Swedish flag will be raised in front of NATO headquarters in Brussels.