Hungarian parliament to vote on Sweden's NATO bid on Monday
Photo: Hungary's parliament may consider Sweden's bid for NATO membership on Monday (Getty Images)
Hungary's parliament will meet on Monday at the request of opposition parties. The ratification of Sweden's bid to join NATO is expected to be on the agenda, reports Reuters.
"But it was not clear if ruling Fidesz party lawmakers, who hold a large majority in parliament, would attend the extraordinary meeting, meaning it would not be able to ratify Sweden's bid," the article says.
Therefore, the issue of ratifying Sweden's application for NATO membership depends on the ruling party.
The head of Viktor Orbán's administration said earlier that lawmakers from the Fidesz party would like to see the "steps from Sweden to strengthen confidence" before they can approve its bid to join NATO. He did not specify what these steps were.
Parliament is scheduled to reconvene for regular session after the winter break at the end of February.
Hungary's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid
Earlier, Budapest promised that it would not be the last to ratify Sweden's application for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. However, the vote in the Hungarian Parliament was postponed several times.
On January 23, the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden's application to join NATO, and on January 25, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved this ratification.
Prior to this, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on his own parliament to take a similar step.
Sweden's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance has been expected for about a year and a half. Stockholm had previously planned to join NATO with Finland, but Helsinki joined the bloc in June 2023, and Sweden's bid was ratified by all NATO countries except Hungary.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Hungary can ratify Sweden's membership in the alliance when the parliament reconvenes. This may happen at the end of February.
