Hungary postpones voting on ratification of Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership
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The Hungarian National Assembly again postponed the vote on the ratification of the protocols on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, transmits Associated Press, citing the decision of Parliament.
It is specified that now the voting will take place no earlier than March 20, although it was originally planned that the issue would be discussed from March 6 to 9.
As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban noted, the reason for this decision was the spread of “blatant lies” about Budapest in Helsinki and Stockholm. It is specified that the Hungarian delegation will be sent to Sweden and Finland to clarify the circumstances.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership at the same time on May 18, 2022. At the moment, only two countries of the NATO bloc – Hungary and Turkey – have not ratified the protocols on the accession of states to the alliance. According to the signed agreements, Stockholm and Helsinki promised Ankara to investigate and stop any funding and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recognized as terrorist in Turkey. In addition, Sweden and Finland pledged to consider Turkey’s requests for the extradition of suspected terrorists, while Stockholm separately announced the tightening of anti-terrorism legislation in the country.
The day before, March 1, the Parliament of Finland with 184 votes out of 200 supported country’s entry into NATO. The vote in parliament was held early to close the issue before the elections, which will be held on April 2. After the approval of the deputies, the bill went to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö for signature for approval.
On February 28, during a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin pointed to the delay in ratifying the two countries’ applications for NATO membership. According to her, this “undermines the credibility of the alliance.” Marin expressed hope that this issue will be finally resolved by the NATO summit in Vilnius, which will be held in July 2023.
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