Hungary Parliament votes in favor of Finland accession to NATO

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
28 Mar 2023 15:19

Hungary's parliament votes in favor of Finland joining NATO with a sweeping majority making it the 29th country out of 30 to approve its bid to become a member of the alliance.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban votes along with lawmakers next to deputy premier Zsolt Semjen on Finland's bid to join NATO at the parliament in Budapest, Hungary, March 27, 2023 (AP).

Finland's bid to become a member of NATO has been approved by the Hungarian Parliament on Monday. With Hungary's approval, 29 of the 30 NATO member states have now approved Finland's bid to ditch its longstanding non-alignment decision and become a member of NATO.

In Hungary, 182 members of Parliament voted in favor of Finland's accession to the alliance while only 6 voted against it. For Finland to join the alliance, the Nordic country still needs the approval of Turkey.

Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that the ratification of Finland's membership to join NATO is likely to be completed before the Turkish presidential elections are due on May 14.

On another note, Erdogan said the ratification of Sweden's membership in NATO will depend on Stockholm's future actions.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto inked the law that would allow his country to join NATO on March 23, as per local media reports. The President signed the law on Thursday in Helsinki after the parliament approved the it earlier this month.