The Hungarian Parliament, dominated by the party of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on Monday ratified Finland’s accession to NATO after months of procrastination, bringing the Nordic country a little closer to the Atlantic Alliance.
A large majority of MPs (182 of the 199 seats) approved Helsinki’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, while the case of Sweden will, according to the ruling Fidesz party, be discussed ” later “.
In a tweet, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin thanked Hungary for the “clear” vote, but called for Stockholm to be brought in quickly to “strengthen the security of the whole alliance”.
“It is in everyone’s interest that Sweden also becomes a NATO member before the Vilnius summit” in July, she wrote.
Among the 30 members of the organization, 28 countries have already ratified the membership of the two countries.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden decided to turn the page on their policy of military non-alignment in force since the 1990s, itself inherited from decades of forced or chosen neutrality , applying to join NATO in May 2022.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave the green light in mid-March for Finland, which shares the longest European border (1,340 km) with Russia, behind Ukraine. The vote in Parliament could take place shortly.
The situation is more delicate for its Swedish neighbour, which still faces objections from Ankara.
Turkey notably accuses Sweden of being a haven for Kurdish “terrorist” militants, and of refusing extraditions, which are in fact decided by Swedish justice.
Links to Putin
Stockholm is also worried about the delay in Budapest, despite the support officially displayed by the Orban government.
Last week, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, judged that there was a “good chance” that the vote on Sweden would come during the spring session of parliament, which ends on June 15.
But the Fidesz party is dragging its feet. He has repeatedly denounced the “lies” spread by Swedish politicians about the rule of law in Hungary, while Viktor Orban is regularly accused by international organizations of “authoritarian drift”.
For the Hungarian opposition, this delay “serves the interests” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Mr. Orban wants to maintain ties, said Monday in the hemicycle the elected Ferenc Gerencser.
Another reason for concern on the Swedish side is that Hungary is using membership of the Atlantic Alliance as a bargaining chip in its battle with the European Union.
Billions of euros in funds intended for Budapest are currently frozen by Brussels, pending reforms to better fight corruption.