(Budapest) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban assured on Saturday that the Hungarian parliament was “on track” to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO this month, Hungary being the last country in the Atlantic Alliance for not having done it.
“The good news is that our current dispute with Sweden is moving towards a conclusion,” Orban said in a state of the nation address.
“Together with the Swedish Prime Minister, we have taken important steps to rebuild trust,” he added, without providing details.
“We are on track to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO at the start of the spring session of parliament,” he stressed.
The next session of the Hungarian parliament begins on February 26.
On Wednesday, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said Sweden hoped the Hungarian parliament would ratify its entry into the Atlantic Alliance at the start of its next session.
Mr. Billström reiterated that there would be no negotiations between Stockholm and Budapest regarding this ratification, in reaction to Mr. Orban’s invitation to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to go to Hungary to “negotiate » this membership.
“There is nothing to negotiate. If there is a visit, it will not be a negotiation, the Prime Minister has said this very clearly,” added the Swedish minister.
Budapest, which has given its support in principle, but has been dragging its feet for months, is calling on Stockholm to stop its policy of “denigration” towards the Hungarian government, accused of authoritarian drift.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden announced its candidacy for NATO in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, which became the 31st in April 2023.e member of this organization after all its members have ratified its membership.