Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s NATO accession bid on Monday, clearing the final hurdle after 18 months of delays. This marks the end of the diplomatic negotiations that Sweden made to join the military alliance. 188 Hungarian lawmakers voted in favor of Sweden’s NATO membership in the parliament. Notably, there was long-term opposition from the members of the governing party. Prime Minister Viktor Orban was under constant pressure from NATO allies to approve the bid.
Notably, unanimous support is needed from the existing NATO members for a new country to join the alliance. Hungary is the last of 31 countries to give its approval since Turkey sanctioned the request in January 2024. Following the approval of Turkey, the Swedish Prime Minister posted on X,
Welcome Türkiye’s approval of the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession. With this, a key milestone has been reached in Sweden’s path towards NATO membership.
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) January 25, 2024
The Scandinavian country will be the 32nd member of NATO and join hands with other countries. As per Article 5 of the treaty, an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all of them. After the vote, Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden, posted on X,
Today is a historic day. The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favour of Swedish accession to NATO. Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security.
— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) February 26, 2024
Sweden had applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Hungary has accused Sweden of hostility and delayed its approval. They referenced Sweden’s criticism of democracy in Hungary. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban revealed last week that Sweden and Hungary are ready to die for each other. He stated,
We are ready to fight for each other, to give our lives for each other.
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