Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticized Hungary on Monday February 19 for blocking the ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO, describing this delay as
"unacceptable"
, Budapest being the last country in the Atlantic Alliance to be ratified.
“It is unacceptable, and not only from my point of view, that one country can block the other, especially in the context of the war with Russia in Ukraine
,” Donald Tusk said at a joint press conference. with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Warsaw.
Budapest, which has given its support in principle but has been dragging its feet for months, is calling on Stockholm to stop its policy of
“denigration”
towards the Hungarian government, accused of authoritarian drift.
On Saturday, however, Prime Minister Viktor Orban assured that the Hungarian parliament was
“on track”
to ratify Sweden's membership of NATO this month.
“Strong desire to finalize the process”
“The good news is that our current dispute with Sweden is moving towards a conclusion
,” Viktor Orban said in a state of the nation address.
Asked about these remarks, Ulf Kristersson said Monday that he did not know
“precisely”
what the Hungarian prime minister meant, only indicating that he had had
“a few conversations in recent weeks”
with his Hungarian counterpart.
“I simply think that there is a strong desire to finalize this process of joining NATO
,” he said.
Swedish authorities have repeatedly refused to enter into negotiations with Hungary on ratification, although Viktor Orban invited his Swedish counterpart to
"negotiate"
Swedish membership.
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden announced its candidacy for NATO in May 2022, at the same time as Finland, which in April 2023 became the 31st member of this organization after all its members had ratified. its membership.