Hungary's ruling parties not to vote on Sweden NATO bid on Feb 5
3 Min Read
The Fidesz press office told ATV that representatives from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party and the Christian Democratic People's Party will not attend the session.
-
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledges cheering supporters during an election night rally in Budapest, Hungary on April 3, 2022.(AP)
According to Hungarian radio ATV, Hungary's ruling parties, who have two-thirds of the vote, will not vote on Sweden's NATO membership proposal on February 5.
Instead, the parties, who have two-thirds of the vote, will wait for a meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Earlier this week, the Hungarian parliament's website announced that it will have an emergency meeting on February 5, with debates on the approval of Sweden's NATO membership.
The Fidesz press office told ATV that representatives from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party and the Christian Democratic People's Party will not attend the session, adding that "with the final vote, they will wait for the meeting of the two prime ministers."
Because the Fidesz-Christian Democratic People's Party combination has 135 MPs out of 199 in parliament, the vote will not take place owing to a lack of quorum.
Last week, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that he would not engage in negotiations with Hungary regarding Sweden's NATO bid.
Despite Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban extending an invitation for discussions in Budapest, which Kristersson accepted in late January, the Swedish Prime Minister emphasized his stance of not entering into negotiations on the matter.
"I'm happy to go to Budapest ... We have a lot to talk about ... but we're not negotiating the NATO membership, there are no negotiations on this," Kristersson told Swedish television TV4, "But we could talk about how we will best cooperate in NATO."
Orban sent the invitation shortly after Hungary criticized Sweden for not taking action to strengthen bilateral relations.
It is worth noting that Budapest has frequently criticized what it perceives as Sweden's "openly hostile attitude," accusing Swedish representatives of consistently criticizing Hungary on rule-of-law issues. However, Orban stated that, despite tensions, he had reiterated his "support" for Sweden's NATO membership in a phone conversation with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment and sought NATO membership in response to the NATO-orchestrated war in Ukraine nearly two years ago. While Finland successfully joined the alliance in April, Sweden faced delays until Turkey's parliament ratified its bid on Tuesday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan formally signing the accession protocol in late January.
