Politicians in Hungary do not want to hear criticism from Sweden about their own country. It is another requirement to approve Sweden’s entry into the NATO defense alliance, says the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Balazs Orban, reports the Budapest Times. – It is clear that we support Sweden’s accession because the government has already made a decision. Now it is up to the parliament, but there is a small problem, he says. According to Balazs Orban, Hungarian members of parliament feel uncomfortable with the fact that some members of the Swedish government have made a habit of questioning the state of democracy in the country. He believes, among other things, that they have “insulted Hungarian voters and members of parliament, and through them the whole of Hungary” and claims that Hungarian politicians are now waiting for an assurance that the cooperation between the countries will work. In the same way that Hungary does not interfere in Swedish domestic political issues, Sweden should not interfere in Hungarian matters either, he believes. – Hungarian members of parliament are waiting for an assurance that there are no problems in the political debate, and that there are no problems in the foundations of Hungarian-Swedish cooperation, he tells the Budapest Times. Finland expected to approve on Monday A vote on Sweden’s accession to NATO is not yet planned, but Hungary is expected to approve Finland’s application on Monday. According to Balazs Orban, they have succeeded in what Sweden has not yet achieved. – It seems that we have managed to get an assurance from the Finns that these problems will not persist in the future, but in Sweden’s case it is a different situation, he says. Magdalena Andersson (S): Completely unacceptable That Hungary is delaying Sweden’s NATO application is completely unacceptable, believes Social Democrats party leader Magdalena Andersson. – Right now, a war is going on in Europe in our immediate area, and both Sweden and Finland have jointly chosen to apply for membership in NATO. That an EU country that is part of the European community delays Sweden’s application in this way is actually completely unacceptable, she tells TV4 Nyheterna. – In addition, Victor Orban has always said that Hungary will ratify Sweden’s application, so it is actually time to do so now. According to Andersson, it is not strange that criticism is directed at a country if it is well deserved. – You can do that between friends, she says. In the player above: See the full interview with Magdalena Andersson.
t4-general
Hungary’s new NATO demand on Sweden: Stop criticizing our country
