Sweden must bury its hopes of NATO membership in mid-July. Because the Hungarian parliament has not put the ratification of the accession protocol on the agenda of its last session before the summer recess, as opposition member Agnes Vadai announced on Thursday.
Parliament is controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing nationalist Fidesz. Orban justifies the veto with the criticism of leading Swedish government politicians of the political situation in his country.
Türkiye is also slowing down
In addition to Hungary, Turkey is also blocking Sweden’s accession to NATO. This accuses Sweden of not doing enough against Kurdish terrorists. The Nordic country has also been accused of Islamophobia. Only Wednesday, Swedish police had to allow the public burning of a Koran in Stockholm after a court ruling that sparked sharp protests not only in the Muslim world. The US also describes the burning of religious texts as “disrespectful and offensive”.
Finland and Sweden jointly applied for NATO membership last year in response to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Turkey immediately voiced its concerns, but they seemed to have been allayed after a compromise reached by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO summit in June last year. Hungary, which unlike other NATO members does not provide military aid to attacked Ukraine, later joined the criticism.
Finland was able to appease Budapest and Ankara in the meantime and was admitted to the alliance in April. Sweden then expressed its hope of being included in the NATO summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Source: Krone
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