Hungary supports Sweden and Finland joining NATO
Created: 11/25/2022, 11:00 am
By: Katja Thorwarth
Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, is in favor of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
© Darko Vojinovic/dpa
Hungary intends to ratify Sweden and Finland's NATO membership next year.
Meanwhile, Sweden and Finland are meeting with Turkey.
Stockholm/Budapest - Turkey is currently voting on when Sweden and Finland can join NATO.
Accordingly, a Turkish delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and Presidential Advisor İbrahim Kalın was sent to Stockholm to discuss developments related to the two countries' accession process to the alliance.
Sweden and Finland have taken some steps to address Turkey's concerns, but Ankara says more concrete action is needed for Turkey's parliament to ratify their accession to the alliance.
Sweden and Finland join NATO: Hungary with a change of course - Turkey with demands
Meanwhile, a change of course has taken place in Hungary.
After initial hesitation, Prime Minister Viktor Orban now intends to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO.
According to the Slovakian news agency TASR, after a meeting with the heads of government of Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic, his government has already made its decision.
“We have already informed Sweden and Finland about this.
You haven't lost a single second of membership," TASR quoted the national conservative politician as saying.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Orban had promised his counterparts at the meeting that ratification would be on the agenda at the first parliamentary session after the turn of the year.
"So ratification will come in about a month or two," TASR quoted the Polish Prime Minister as saying.
Finland and Sweden join NATO: NATO foreign ministers meet at the end of November
The four heads of government of the Visegrad Group (V4) met in the eastern Slovakian regional capital Kosice.
The war in Ukraine and its effects were the main topic, as the government office in Bratislava announced.
With the exception of the Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, the countries of the V4 group border Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia.
Finland and Sweden want an accelerated process for joining NATO.
The issue will be a priority at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Bucharest on 29-30 November, which will also be attended by Swedish and Finnish ministers.
(ktho/dpa)
