Hungarian Parliament Will Reportedly Not Ratify Sweden's NATO Bid Before Fall

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - The Hungarian parliament will not vote on ratifying Sweden's application to join NATO during the last week of the spring session, Hungarian media reported on Wednesday, citing people in the know.

The Hungarian parliament is reportedly expected to complete its work before the summer vacation with a three-day extraordinary session. However, the ratification of Sweden's application is still not on the agenda, which means that the voting will definitely be postponed until the fall, insiders have indicated.

There is no information on the agenda of the extraordinary session, which is scheduled to start on July 4, on the parliament's website.

Agnes Vadai, a member of the opposition Democratic Coalition, said on social media earlier in June that there would be no vote to ratify Sweden's application next week.

On March 27, the Hungarian parliament voted for the ratification of Finland's accession to NATO. Back then, Mate Kocsis, leader of Hungary's Fidesz ruling party, said the decision on Sweden would be made later.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs later explained the delay by alleging Sweden constantly undermines its relations with Hungary and demonstrates "moral superiority."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in February that more parliamentary group talks were needed before the lawmakers voted on ratification, because some of them believed Finland and Sweden were spreading "lies" about Hungary.

Sweden, along with Finland, submitted its NATO application in May 2022, several months after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Finland became a member of the alliance in April 2023. Sweden's application is still pending approval from Hungary and Turkey.