Hungary ended its holdout after signing a defense deal with the Scandinavian nation, which will become the alliance’s 32nd member.
Sweden is set to join NATO as Hungary ratified its inclusion in the military alliance. Hungary was the only remaining nation among the 31 member NATO states that hadn’t
ratified Sweden’s entry.
On Feb. 26, the Hungarian parliament approved Sweden’s entry into NATO by a vote of 188–6, thus ending an almost two-year-long effort to get the Nordic nation into the group.
“Today is a historic day. The parliaments of all NATO member states have now voted in favour of Swedish accession to NATO. Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
wrote in a Feb. 26 post on social media platform X.
A flag-raising ceremony is expected to take place later this week at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels to formalize the inclusion. The ascension
documents must be filed at the U.S. State Department, which acts as NATO’s depository.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had delayed the approval, citing Swedish politicians’
criticism of Hungary. He blamed them for souring relations and creating hesitancy among his party members to green-light Sweden’s NATO entry.
For years, the European Union has
accused the Orban administration of clamping down on media freedom and individual rights for the benefit of the ruling government.
“It’s not right for (Sweden and Finland) to ask us to take them on board while they’re spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about democracy, about life here,” Mr. Orban said last year.
“Can anyone want to be our ally in a military system while they’re shamelessly spreading lies about Hungary?”
The Hungarian prime minister eventually gave his nod to Sweden’s entry after signing a defense deal.
“Important agreement today between Sweden and Hungary on the acquisition of four new Gripen fighter jets—a Swedish pride and one of the best systems in the world,” the Swedish prime minister
wrote in a Feb. 23 X post.
Following the deal, Mr. Orban
said, “To be a member of NATO together with another country means we are ready to die for each other,” according to The Associated Press.
“A deal on defense and military capacities helps to reconstruct the trust between the two countries.”
The Hungarian prime minister has close ties with Russia.
Sweden and Finland
applied to join NATO in May 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland formally joined the alliance in April 2023.
Sweden and NATO
Sweden has long maintained a nonalignment policy, keeping itself out of military
alliances for more than 200 years. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the country’s stance.
Public opinion, which had strongly opposed full membership in NATO, changed after the war began, with several polls showing a surge in support for joining the alliance.
Turkey also initially refused to ratify Sweden’s inclusion in NATO.
Turkey put forward a set of demands for Sweden, including asking for a tougher stance against groups seen to be against Turkish interests. Sweden agreed to a few demands. In January, the Turkish government approved Sweden’s membership.
With Sweden in the fold, NATO nations will now surround the Baltic Sea, which is Russia’s maritime point of access to two of its regions—Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg.
Russia has sent mixed signals regarding Sweden’s and Finland’s entries into NATO. In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin
said Moscow has “no problem” with both nations joining the group.
In March 2023, however, Russia’s ambassador to Stockholm said that Nordic nations’
joining the military alliance would make them “a legitimate target for Russian retaliatory measures, including those of a military nature.”
Mr. Putin also warned in December 2023 that Finland’s joining NATO could create
problems between Moscow and Helsinki.
The NATO expansion to include Sweden is happening as the alliance has come under heavy
criticism from former U.S. President Donald Trump. He chided many member states for not meeting their expected defense spending targets.
During a rally early this month, President Trump said that if he is elected later this year, NATO nations that fail to fulfill their financial obligations toward the military alliance wouldn’t receive help from the United States even if attacked by Russia.
According to a 2023 NATO report, only seven of the 31 allies met the 2 percent GDP spending target on defense in 2022.
In a Feb. 13
post on Truth Social, the former president doubled down on his criticism of the military alliance, calling for the organization to “equalize” its funding. He said NATO was stronger while he was in office, as he pushed for member countries to provide more funding instead of relying on the United States.
Sweden’s inclusion in NATO will boost the alliance’s defense in the region against Russian aggression. The country has committed to raise defense spending and meet the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP.
Even though it hasn’t been a part of NATO, Swedish forces have participated in several joint exercises with the group over the years.
