The Hungarian Parliament officially approved Sweden’s accession to NATO on Monday (February 26), removing the final hurdle for this Nordic country’s historic journey.
The vote in Hungary ended months of delay in agreeing for Sweden to join NATO. The incident follows a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday, during which the two countries signed an arms deal.
“Sweden is leaving behind 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment… We are defending our freedoms, democracy and values with the others”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has faced pressure from NATO allies to accept Sweden’s entry into the military alliance.
“We look forward to soon welcoming Sweden, along with Finland, into the NATO alliance,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. She encouraged the Hungarian government to quickly complete the procedure to allow Sweden to join NATO.
“Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on X.
Sweden abandoned its policy of non-alignment for greater security within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Russia’s conflict with Ukraine in 2022.
The accession of Sweden, which has not been at war since 1814, and Finland is the most significant expansion of NATO since it took in members from Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union in At 1991.
Sweden has put military resources into NATO, such as advanced submarines and a fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets. Sweden is also increasing its military spending and will reach NATO’s 2% GDP threshold this year.
As you know, Finland joined NATO last year. Meanwhile, Sweden had to wait because Türkiye and Hungary voiced their objections.
Earlier this month, Türkiye agreed to let Sweden join NATO after resolving disagreements over the Kurds. Therefore, Hungary’s agreement above is considered the final barrier in Sweden’s journey to join NATO.
