Sweden clears final hurdle to Nato membership as Hungary approves accession
Sweden has cleared the final hurdle to joining Nato, after Hungary’s parliament approved its bid to join the military alliance.
The Nordic country applied to join Nato following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, marking an end to a policy of neutrality held since the 1800s.
Unanimous support among all Nato members is required to admit new countries.
Hungary was the last of the alliance’s 31 members to give its backing, after Turkey ratified the request last month.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government submitted the protocols for approving Sweden’s entry into Nato in July 2022 – but the matter had stalled in parliament over opposition by governing party lawmakers.
President Orban, a right-wing populist who has forged close ties with Russia, previously said that criticism of Hungary’s democracy by Swedish politicians had soured relations between the two countries and led to reluctance among lawmakers in his Fidesz party.
But the vote on Monday – which passed with 188 votes for and six against – removed the final membership hurdle for Sweden which, along with neighbouring Finland, first applied to join the alliance in May 2022.
It followed a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday, during which the two countries signed an arms deal.
“Sweden is leaving 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment behind,” Mr Kristersson told a press conference.
“We are joining Nato in order to defend what we are and everything we believe in even better. We are defending our freedom, our democracy and our values, together with others.”
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on X: “Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer.”
Addressing lawmakers before the vote, Mr Orban said: “Sweden and Hungary’s military co-operation and Sweden’s Nato accession strengthen Hungary’s security.”
He criticised Hungary’s European Union and Nato allies for placing increased pressure on his government in recent months to move forward on bringing Sweden into the alliance.
“Several people tried to intervene from the outside in the settling of our disputes (with Sweden), but this did not help but rather hampered the issue,” Mr Orban said.
“Hungary is a sovereign country, it does not tolerate being dictated by others, whether it be the content of its decisions or their timing.”
Last weekend, a bipartisan group of US senators visited Hungary.
They announced plans to submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning the Hungary’s alleged democratic backsliding, urging Mr Orban’s government to immediately lift its block on Sweden’s trans-Atlantic integration.
On Monday, ambassadors from several Nato countries were in the parliamentary chamber during the vote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine to block the country from joining Nato, fearing the growth of the military bloc. Since then, two countries have joined.
Finland formally joined NATO in April last year, doubling the length of the alliance’s border with Russia.
