Hungary: Finland and Sweden ‘can count on us’ in NATO bid

"Finland and Sweden are our allies and they can count on us."

By Reuters November 9, 2022
587
A view of the flags of Finland, NATO and Sweden during a ceremony to mark Sweden’s and Finland’s application for membership in Brussels, Belgium on May 18, 2022. (Johanna Geron / Pool via Reuters / File Photo)

BUDAPEST — Hungary’s parliament will discuss the ratification of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO during its autumn session after a series of EU-related bills have been passed, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said on Wednesday.

“Finland and Sweden are our allies and they can count on us,” Gergely Gulyas told a briefing.

Hungary and Turkey are the only members of the alliance who have not cleared the accession.

“Our aim is that parliament should ratify their application before the end of this year … we have always said we supported the ratification,” Gulyas said, in reply to a question.

Orban’s government had submitted the relevant bills in mid-July, but parliament, in which his ruling Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, has still not tabled the two bills for debate and approval.

Reporting by Krisztina Than.

This article has been fact-checked by Arctic Today and Polar Research and Policy Initiative, with the support of the EMIF managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for any content supported by the European Media and Information Fund lies with the author(s) and it may not necessarily reflect the positions of the EMIF and the Fund Partners, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the European University Institute.