Hungary failes to vote on Sweden's NATO bid, Orban names condition
Photo: Hungary didn't vote on Sweden's NATO membership (Getty Images)
Today, February 5, the Parliament of Hungary failed to ratify Sweden's application to join NATO due to a boycott by the pro-government Fidesz party, according to Reuters and SVT.
European correspondent of SVT Christopher Wendik reported that there is no one in the majority seats in the parliament.
"As expected, Viktor Orbán's Fidesz and their allies chose not to show up. This means that a vote on Sweden's NATO membership is not possible," says the article.
Ambassadors from various countries attended the voting
Reuters writes that the US ambassador in Budapest, together with the ambassadors of some other NATO allies, including Denmark and Poland, visited the Hungarian parliament on Monday.
"It's extremely unpleasant that up to today, they (Fidesz - ed.) have been blocking Sweden's NATO accession," MP from the opposition party LMP Máté Kanász-Nagy told the parliament.
A deputy from the opposition Democratic Coalition Agnes Vadai said that Orbán wants to support the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, thus breaking the unity of NATO.
"The ambassadors did not make any remarks before entering the parliament, but it is expected that they will comment on the situation after the meeting," the article writes.
Condition from Orbán's party
Sweden's application to join NATO may be ratified when the Hungarian parliament convenes for a regular session, the parliamentary group of the Fidesz party reported earlier.
They added that at first, she was waiting for the visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest.
"If this is an important issue for the Swedes, then obviously the Swedish prime minister will come to Budapest," Fidesz said in an emailed response to questions from Reuters.
Hungary's ratification of Sweden's accession to NATO
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. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on his parliament to take a similar step.
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.
