Hungarian parliament to vote on Swedish Nato bid to end year-long impasse

NEW DELHI: Hungary's parliament is expected to approve Sweden's Nato bid on Monday, putting an end to over a year of delay.

The voting comes amid frustration among other Nato partners over delay in Hungary's approval for Sweden, especially as Ukraine has been battling Russian troops. Turkey ratified Sweden's request for Nato membership in January, leaving Hungary as the last hurdle.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland applied to join the Nato in May 2022.

Finland was accepted as the 31st member of the US-led defence alliance in April last year.

Hungary has repeatedly expressed support for Sweden's membership but has been prolonging the process by asking Sweden to stop criticizing the Hungarian government. Swedish officials have been accused of unfairly targeting Hungary on rule-of-law matters.

However, after a recent meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson, progress has been made.

Orban announced that they have clarified their intentions and signed a deal to acquire four Swedish-made fighter jets.

Orban's Fidesz party, which holds a majority in parliament, has already indicated its support for Sweden's bid.

All opposition parties, except for the far-right Our Homeland movement, are in favor of ratification. Lawmakers are expected to approve Sweden's bid in a parliamentary vote on Monday.

The delay in approving Finland and Sweden's Nato bids was caused by Hungary and Turkey. While Turkey cited security concerns, Hungary had various reasons for the delay.

Some experts believe it was a strategy to gain concessions from Brussels, while others think it highlighted Orban's close relationship with the presidents of Russia and Turkey. Analyst Mate Szalai believes Orban was simply catering to his domestic audience.

For analyst Mate Szalai of Venice's Ca' Foscari University, Orban was simply playing to his domestic audience.

"Orban wanted to go as far as he could without causing serious problems to the Transatlantic community while proving that Hungary is a power to be reckoned with," he told AFP.

While Hungary's "confrontational behaviour" did not reap any tangible results, it might have "been beneficial domestically for the ruling Fidesz party", he added.

"Many initiatives of the Hungarian government are designed to provoke a backlash in Europe," said Szalai.

"And most criticism expressed towards the Orban government actually helps Fidesz to maintain its popularity in the country."

(With AFP input)

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