The Hungarian government on Wednesday March 29 called on Sweden to “
change its tone
” and end its policy of “
denigration
” with regard to Budapest, prerequisites according to it to any vote on Stockholm's accession to NATO.
"
There are many grievances to be settled before we can ratify
" the Nordic country's entry into the Atlantic alliance, spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote on his official website on Wednesday.
He denounces "
an openly hostile attitude
" of Swedish representatives, accused of regularly criticizing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's breaches of the rule of law and "
of using their political influence
" in Brussels "
to harm Hungarian interests
" .
.
Parliament was the last in the European Union (EU) to approve Finland's membership on Monday after months of procrastination.
We believe it is necessary to clear up misunderstandings with Sweden before we can proceed.
Zoltan Kovacs, spokesperson for the Swedish government
But no date has yet been set for the Swedish case and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson asked for an explanation last week.
“
We consider it necessary to clear up misunderstandings with Sweden before we can proceed
” to the vote, declared Zoltan Kovacs.
A complicated task, he adds, as “
bilateral relations have deteriorated for years
”.
To this end, a delegation from Fidesz, the ruling party, visited Sweden at the beginning of March.
"
It seems that the Swedish government simply doesn't care,
" says the Hungarian official.
"narrow room for manoeuvre"
If we add to this the objections of Turkey, which accuses Sweden of being a haven for Kurdish militants accused of being "terrorists
"
and of refusing extraditions, "
the room for maneuver is narrow, unless the Swedes are changing their tune and helping to heal old wounds
,” he continues.
Only Ankara and Budapest have yet to ratify the accession of Sweden, historically non-aligned.
The 28 other members of NATO (United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, etc.) have already done so.
Viktor Orban said he was in favor of it in principle, but he cultivated ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Head of State Vladimir Putin.
On the Swedish side, there are also fears that Hungary will use membership of the Atlantic Alliance as a bargaining chip in its battle with the EU.
Billions of euros in funds intended for Budapest are currently frozen by Brussels, pending reforms to better fight corruption.
