Sweden’s Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, and Social Democratic Leader, Magdalena Andersson, are pushing Hungary to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid on the sidelines of the EU summit

in Brussels. The move comes after Budapest announced that the Hungarian parliament would vote on the ratification of Finland’s NATO application before Sweden’s, without giving any explanation to the Swedish government. This has caused concern in Stockholm and has led to a rift within the Hungarian ruling party. Fidesz and its MPs disagree on when a vote on Sweden’s ratification should occur. A government spokesperson has assured that the matter should not be delayed for very long.

Kristersson and Andersson want an answer from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about why his country intends to ratify Finland’s NATO application before Sweden’s. Kristersson said he will ask why Hungary is now announcing that they will separate Sweden from Finland, saying these are signals that they have not received before.

“It is, of course, completely unreasonable that Hungary does not ratify Sweden at the same time as it ratifies Finland. This is a major setback for the Swedish government. They now need help from other countries,” said Andersson. She added that she is convinced that the countries at the EU summit will put pressure on Hungary to do so.

The situation has caused concerns for Sweden as they fear that Hungary’s delay in ratifying their membership will cause issues in the future. While Turkey and Hungary continue to delay their approval, Swedish Foreign Minister Billström expressed his “firm conviction” that Sweden will be part of the military alliance when NATO holds its summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was present at the Social Democrats meeting but did not comment on the situation. Meanwhile, the Swedish government has been working hard to gain support from other countries to put pressure on Hungary to ratify their membership as soon as possible.

The delay in ratification has raised concerns in Sweden about their ability to protect themselves in the event of a military attack. Sweden is not a member of NATO but has been working towards joining the alliance in recent years. The move has been met with opposition from Russia, who view it as a threat to their security.

Despite the opposition, Sweden has remained committed to joining NATO and sees it as a vital step towards ensuring their national security. The country has been increasing its defense spending in recent years to prepare for the move, but the delay in ratification from Hungary and Turkey has caused some uncertainty. Photo by Tarjei Mo, Wikimedia commons.