Sweden and Hungary move to smooth over tensions ahead of vote on Sweden's NATO accession
Hungary’s nationalist government has delayed holding a vote on Sweden’s membership for more than 18 months, creating tension with Stockholm and drawing mounting pressure from its allies to finally move forward on ratification
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Nearly two years after Sweden formally applied to join NATO, its membership now hinges on convincing one country — Viktor Orbán’s Hungary — to formally ratify its bid to join the military alliance.
Hungary’s nationalist government has delayed holding a vote on Sweden’s membership for more than 18 months, creating tension with Stockholm and drawing mounting pressure from its allies to finally move forward on ratification.
Yet Orbán’s party this week announced it will vote on ratifying Sweden’s NATO bid on Monday, suggesting the delays — and the diplomatic tensions — could be drawing to a close. While neither Hungarian nor Swedish officials have specified what led to Hungary dropping its objections, there are indications that the two countries are closing in on an agreement for Hungary to acquire Swedish-built military equipment.
Jens Wenzel, a Sweden-based defense analyst with Nordic Defence Analysis, a consultancy, said that Hungary’s delays in ratifying Sweden’s NATO bid has in part been a form of pressure on Stockholm “to come up with some kind of needed equipment acquisition deals” for the Hungarian military.
