The Hungarian Parliament has approved Sweden’s proposal to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
On Monday, 194 out of 199 members of Parliament took part in the voting, out of which 188 votes were cast in favor, while six votes were cast in opposition.
The Hungarian Parliament voted on the bill on Monday, the first day of the spring session, Xinhua news agency reported.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sweden’s accession to NATO that, “Hungary’s security will be strengthened by Sweden’s accession to NATO and Swedish-Hungarian military cooperation.”
The six MPs who voted in opposition included Alod Novak of the opposition party Our Homeland. Alod Novak called for a veto before the vote, saying, “Let’s veto Sweden’s entry into NATO.”
The Hungarian Parliament has expressed its support for Sweden joining NATO, becoming the last of the 31 NATO member states to approve Sweden’s proposal to join the military alliance.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit is scheduled to take place in July in Washington DC, where Sweden will officially become the 32nd member of the alliance.
Hungary’s newly elected President Tamas Suliok has not yet signed the bill, without his signature this bill cannot become law. Therefore, the signature of President Tamas Suliok is required.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed the approval of the proposal by the Hungarian Parliament.
Prime Minister Ulf Christerson called it “a historic day” and wrote on the social media platform X that Sweden is ready to take on whatever responsibility lies ahead for Euro-Atlantic security.
It is noteworthy that Sweden and Finland had applied to join NATO in February 2022 after the Ukrainian crisis escalated. They could join only after the approval of all NATO members.
The Hungarian Parliament approved the proposal for Finland to join NATO in March last year.