The Hungarian Parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO accession in a vote held on Monday, February 26th, paving the way for the Nordic country to become the military alliance’s 32nd member state. In a separate vote, the parliament elected Hungary’s new president, Tamás Sulyok, after his predecessor resigned following a political scandal.
Hungary’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership was the last major hurdle standing in the way of the Scandinavian country that applied to become a member of the military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Following the vote, NATO is likely to announce Sweden as its 32nd member later this week. This comes after Finland joined the alliance last year.
The two Scandinavian countries reversed their strategy of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO two years ago. Finland’s accession went relatively smoothly but both Turkey and Hungary delayed a vote on Sweden—the former demanded, amongst other things, anti-terrorist legislation from Stockholm, while the latter was angered by being lambasted by Swedish high-ranking politicians for its conservative policies.
Hungary and Sweden resolved their issues and vowed to reestablish mutual trust during Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s visit to Budapest last Friday, where he and his counterpart, Viktor Orbán signed a deal for Budapest to buy four Swedish Gripen fighter jets.
In his speech in Parliament on Monday, Viktor Orbán said his meeting with Ulf Kristersson has led to a fairer and more respectful partnership between the two countries, with both acknowledging and respecting the differences in opinions they have. Huge pressure had been heaped on Hungary by its allies, especially by the United States, urging Budapest to speed up the ratification process. The prime minister accused outside forces of trying to meddle in its dispute with Sweden:
Hungary is a sovereign country, it does not tolerate others dictating to it, whether it is about the content or the timing of its decisions. Hungary and Sweden are two countries with a long history, we know how to resolve our differences, we do not need the unsolicited guardianship, violent and disrespectful intervention of others.
He said the fighter jets were needed for the country to bolster its defence capabilities in light of the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine. The prime minister reiterated his position that the war cannot be resolved militarily, therefore his NATO and EU allies should focus on establishing peace, not fan the flame by sending more weapons to Ukraine.
Both Ulf Kristersson and NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Hungarian vote, with the latter saying “Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.”
In another important vote on Monday, the Hungarian Parliament elected Tamás Sulyok as the country’s new president, following the resignation of Katalin Novák. She stood down from her post two weeks ago after her decision to pardon a man convicted of covering up child sexual abuse caused outrage in the country.
In his speech on Monday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Katalin Novák had done the right thing by resigning because
in Hungary, there is zero tolerance when it comes to child protection. The child enjoys absolute, full-scope protection, the perpetrator must be punished and the sentence served. There can be no loopholes, no preferential treatment, no parole, no pardon.
He asked parliament to approve a constitutional amendment to prevent convicted paedophiles from being eligible for conditional release under any circumstances. He also called for thorough background checks within child protection institutions: “We will check everyone, because the eligibility criteria must cover everything, lifestyle, sexual deviance and psychological compliance.”
