Hungary's ruling party, Fidesz delays Sweden's NATO accession, causing international discord

On Monday, Hungarian opposition representatives called for an extraordinary parliamentary session. The goal was to expedite a decision on the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession. However, representatives of the ruling coalition, namely Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People's Party, announced they would not attend the Monday session.

"From our perspective, the ratification of Sweden's NATO accession can occur at the start of a regular parliamentary session, but a meeting of both countries' prime ministers in Budapest is needed. If accession is important to the Swedes, they will come here, just like they went to Turkey", said Fidesz faction leader Máté Kocsis on Facebook.

However, other countries' representatives wanted to pressure the ruling party. NATO nation ambassadors, including those from Poland, the United States, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, and Estonia, were present at the parliamentary session.

The benches allocated for the government and ruling party were vacant during the meeting, meaning there was no quorum for ratification. Opposition MPs made a few statements, calling Fidesz's delay a disgrace and implying that it was an action in favour of Russia.

For months, Hungary had assured it would not be the final NATO member state to ratify Sweden's NATO accession. However, the opposite occurred, with even Turkey, initially reluctant to Stockholm, casting an affirmative vote for Sweden's NATO accession in late January.

Before the Turkish parliament voted, Viktor Orban unsuccessfully attempted to invite Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for accession discussions. The Swedes, however, did not see a reason for it. The heads of government met in Brussels at the EU summit last week. Despite reports, NATO was not a subject of discussion. Kristersson however, clarified that he was open to visiting Budapest, but only after the ratification of the resolution.

As early as July 2022, Budapest commenced a project regarding Sweden's NATO accession. However, the parliament did not deal with it for over eighteen months.

The Orban government is currently engaged in a three-day meeting in Sopronbánfalva. It's suspected that the Swedish case will be one of the discussion topics.

Media reports indicate the next regular session of the Hungarian parliament is scheduled for February 26th. Laszlo Kover, the Speaker, does not perceive the Swedish accession as a pressing issue for Hungary.