Budapest supports Sweden's NATO membership, but Swedish politicians must stop spreading "lies
"
about Hungary and the rule of law, the head of a Hungarian parliamentary delegation said on Tuesday.
The only country with Turkey not to have ratified in Parliament the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO, Hungary should vote in favor of the entry of the two Nordic countries "in the coming weeks"
,
affirmed to the press the Vice-President of the Hungarian Parliament Csaba Hende.
Improve bilateral relations
"
We started our debate last week and normally when everything goes well a debate like this ends in a few weeks
," said this Fidesz official of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The numerous postponements of Hungarian ratification in recent months have raised concerns in Sweden and Finland, whose applications are already de facto blocked by Turkey.
According to the website of the Hungarian Parliament, the decision on the ratification initially scheduled between March 6 and 9 is now set for March 20 at the earliest.
Csaba Hende and other Hungarian MPs met the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament on Tuesday morning, as part of a "
courtesy visit
" on the ratification of the Swedish and Finnish candidacies.
“
It was warm, friendly, forward-looking.
This showed the prospect of a new start
,” said the Fidesz official.
“
We have made it clear that the Hungarian government, the president and most of the deputies support Swedish membership of NATO
,” he continued.
See also NATO: as it stands, Turkey is “not in a position” to ratify Sweden’s accession
But he deemed it “
necessary
” to improve the “
bilateral relationship
” between Stockholm and Budapest.
"
We also need more respect for Hungary
," insisted Csaba Hende, without specifying what "
lies
" he was targeting on the Swedish side.
He called on Swedish officials "
to avoid portraying Hungary in a false way
" and to "
refrain from talking about an absence of the rule of law, which is based on unfounded facts
".
One of the concerns on the Swedish side is that Hungary is using NATO membership as a bargaining chip in its battle with the European Union.
In December, Brussels decided to freeze billions of euros in EU funds pending anti-corruption reforms, after a long standoff with Budapest.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the Hungarian government has also distinguished itself from the rest of Europe with an ambiguous position, refraining from criticizing the Russian president.
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