Stockholm ratification stalls in Budapest, needs to regain trust

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Apr 2023 14:22

The Chief of Staff of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Gergely Gulyas, warns Sweden that it must regain Hungary's trust after it had openly questioned the country's democratic law.

Gergely Gulyas, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, speaks during an interview in his office in Budapest, Hungary on September 16, 2019. (Reuters)

With Finland having already become a NATO member despite having applied simultaneously with Sweden, the latter has faced multiple challenges, with relations between Sweden and Hungary having most recently become rocky.

The Chief of Staff of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Gergely Gulyas, warned Stockholm that it needed to take steps to regain Budapest's confidence in order to consequently gain its vote for its NATO accession.

Budapest has expressed particular resentment over Stockholm's criticism of Hungary's democracy and rule of law, as well as what it regards as "insults" directed at Prime Minister Victor Orban specifically and other Hungarian politicians generally, not to mention the Hungarian nation.

The chief of staff once again stressed the reservations of Hungary's leadership regarding Sweden's NATO application. Both Nordic nations have been blamed by Orban directly for disseminating "outright lies" about the situation of democracy in Hungary.

Sweden and Finland had recently backed an anti-Hungary lawsuit brought on by the European Commission (EC) over what was dubbed by the Nordic states and the EC as an "anti-LGBT" law. Gulyas argued that this has also become a main concern for Hungary vis-a-vis Sweden.

"Current Sweden-Hungary relations, also because of this intervention on the side of the Commission, are at a low point, and steps to boost confidence are needed," Gulyas said, adding that "in such a situation, NATO unity is of paramount importance and it is not helpful if we import bilateral debates into NATO."

Mainly, Hungary perceives the questioning of its democracy by Sweden as an "unacceptable" quest. And despite US and EU pressure on Budapest, Sweden's ratification process has been stranded in Hungary's parliament for some time now as Orban insists that Sweden needs to prove to Budapest that it can be trusted.

It is worth noting that Sweden is also still waiting for ratification from Turkey with which it faces even more complex challenges. US President Joe Biden, during his welcoming of Finland as NATO's 31st member state, urged Hungary and Turkey to conclude the ratification processes for Sweden "without delay".

Austin looks forward to seeing Sweden in NATO 'as soon as possible'

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin congratulated Finland on becoming the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the 74th anniversary of the alliance.

Austin added that he looks "forward to seeing Sweden join the Alliance as soon as possible," revealing that he intends to visit Sweden later this month to discuss the Scandinavian country’s accession to NATO.

Touching on the US-led military alliance's expansion, Austin claimed that "Putin’s war is not the result of NATO enlargement—it is the cause of NATO enlargement."

Historically, NATO members have been noncompliant with the rules and regulations that make up the current international order. For instance, the NATO-led bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 is one of many incidents in which NATO members disregarded international law to claim their interests.