The Parliament of Hungary ratified this Monday the entry of Sweden into NATO, thereby lifting the last obstacle that the Scandinavian country faced to integrate as a full member of the Atlantic Alliance.
Hungary was the last country of the alliance's 31 members to give the green light to Sweden's integration after Turkey, another country that has also raised objections to enlargement, did so at the end of January.
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The ratification, broadcast live on Parliament's website, was approved with 188 votes in favor and 6 against.
Now, the law will go to the president's office to be promulgated in the coming days, a formality that is expected to be made effective this time by the President of Parliament, László Köver, due to the fact that the Head of State of the Republic, Katalin Novák, resigned.
Then, according to NATO regulations, Sweden must send Washington the accession instruments to become the 32nd member of the pact.
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The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, assured this Monday that Sweden will make the transatlantic organization stronger and more secure. “Sweden's accession will make us all stronger and safer,” said Stoltenberg through his profile on the social network.
For his part, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the ratification as “historic.” “A historic day. The parliaments of all NATO countries have now voted for Sweden to join. We are ready to assume our share of responsibility for NATO security,” he wrote on the social network X.
Sweden faced a road full of obstacles to enter the military pact, which included the difficult negotiation to obtain approval from Turkey, which concluded in January.
He also had to convince the Hungarian Prime Minister, the nationalist politician Viktor Orbán, since The accession protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) requires the unanimous agreement of the members of the pact.
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Sweden launched its application to join the alliance in May 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It did so at the same time as Finland, which in April 2023 became the organization's 31st member.
I welcome the Hungarian parliament's vote to ratify #Sweden's membership in NATO. Now that all Allies have approved, Sweden will become the 32nd #BORN Ally. Sweden's membership will make us all stronger and safer.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) February 26, 2024
Orbán always defended being in favor of Sweden joining the military pact, but was postponing the vote, as it demanded that the Nordic country “respect” its government.
For some experts, the delay in Hungary's approval – which lasted more than a year and a half – was a strategy to negotiate with the European Union to unlock billions of euros in funds that are frozen.
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Other analysts pointed to Orbán's closeness to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Turkish head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the reason, who explained his reluctance for security reasons.
The Turkish Parliament finally approved Sweden's entry on January 23, just the day Orbán formally invited Kristersson to Budapest by letter to discuss that and other issues.
The meeting between Orbán and Kristersson took place last Friday, after the Hungarian president announced that the parliamentary vote would be held this Monday.
After that meeting, Orbán and Kristersson explained to the press that Hungary will buy another four Swedish-made Gripen fighters, which will join the 14 it has been receiving on a rental basis since 2006.
Sweden's request to join NATO broke a policy of non-alignment that the country maintained for decades and that was anchored in the rejection of the majority of the population.
The invasion of Ukraine marked a drastic change in the attitude of Swedish political parties and public opinion, and in May 2022 the majority of Parliament voted in favor of applying for membership in NATO.
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The Swedish armed forces have 50,000 soldiers, of which about half are reservists, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson declared in January that his country is willing to provide troops to NATO forces in Latvia..
But geopolitically, after Finland's entry, Sweden's entry means for Russia that the Baltic Sea is now surrounded by NATO member countries, and some analysts describe it as a “Nato lake.”
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With information from EFE and AFP
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