Hungary questioned the need for Sweden to join NATO

The Chairman of the Hungarian Parliament, Laszlo Kever, is not sure that Budapest needs to approve Sweden’s application to join NATO. This is what he’s talking about stated aired on the HirTV channel.

Kever made this statement after an educational video was shown in Swedish schools, which criticized Hungarian policies.

“I think we don’t need an ally who has the same opinion about us and our patriotism as reflected in this little film. So what are we looking for in an alliance? This means someone is out of place,” he noted.

Previously, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó also criticized This movie. He sent a letter to his Swedish colleague calling the information in the video a false accusation. Szijjártó noted that this does not help the process of ratification of the agreement on Sweden’s entry into the military alliance. He pointed out the contradiction as Stockholm is calling on the Hungarian parliament to approve the application while simultaneously accusing parliamentarians of destroying democracy in the country.

Sweden applied for NATO membership four months after the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Finland also applied at the same time, and in April officially became the 31st member of the military bloc. According to the organization’s charter, the consent of all its members is required for the admission of new states to NATO.

Türkiye opposed Sweden’s entry. Ankara later agreed to ratify the protocol on the admission of Stockholm to the military bloc; the Turkish parliament may consider this issue in October. However, on September 16, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan statedthat Stockholm has still not fulfilled its promises to Ankara that would allow the country to join NATO.