US renews pressure on Hungary to approve Sweden’s NATO bid

 

“Hungary knows intimately the benefits that Sweden’s membership in the alliance will bring,” US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman told reporters on September 15. “The prime minister himself has stated that he supports Sweden’s membership in the alliance, and we look forward to expeditious action by the Hungarian government and its parliament.”

 

Türkiye and Hungary are the only two members that have yet to ratify Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move that was spurred by the Nordic country’s security concerns after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

 

The process has dragged on despite both governments in Ankara and Budapest having agreed to Sweden’s accession in principle.

 

Türkiye lifted its objections in July at a NATO summit after Sweden pledged to follow a new plan to crack down on Kurdish separatist groups there. Hungary, for its part, has said it’s following Türkiye’s cue in the ratification process, without saying why. Orban’s government has also lashed out at Sweden for its criticism over the erosion of the rule of law in Hungary.

 

Orban’s Fidesz party, which holds a supermajority in parliament that allows it to pass any legislation without opposition support, will hold a retreat next week to discuss the parliamentary agenda through the end of the year.

 

Earlier, Orban’s government said that ruling party lawmakers will approve Sweden’s bid in the autumn, though it has reneged on previous pledges relating to the timetable for ratification.