The parliamentary group of the ruling party Fidesz wants Sweden’s membership to be considered by the parliament on Monday.
The Hungarian parliament seems to vote on Sweden’s NATO membership on Monday, February 26, Swedish newspapers say Aftonbladet and Expressen.
This is clear from a letter written by the leader of the parliamentary group of the ruling party Fidesz Kocsis Máté has posted on Facebook. In the letter, Máté asks the president of the parliament László Kövéria to take the matter to the parliament for consideration on Monday, when the parliament returns from the Christmas break.
Máté states in the letter that the Prime Minister Viktor Orban The Fidesz party supports Sweden’s member appeal. Prime Minister Orbán has also previously stated that he supports membership, even though he has delayed ratification for a year and a half already.
Swedish Minister of Defense Paul Jonson says he is satisfied with the plans of the Hungarian Parliament, the news agency Reuters reports.
The Fidesz party has not previously agreed to organize a vote on the subject. The party has a majority in the Hungarian parliament, so it could have prevented the matter from being discussed.
Hungary is the last NATO country that has not yet accepted Sweden’s NATO membership application. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership together in May 2022, and the countries were approved as candidate members in July of the same year. Finland became a NATO Member on April 4, 2023.