Hungarian Parliament Fails to Vote on Sweden's NATO Bid Due to Lack of Quorum

BUDAPEST (Sputnik) - The Hungarian parliament did not ratify Sweden's NATO application because the ruling alliance between the national-conservative Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz) party and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), which holds the constitutional majority, did not participate in the session.

According to information published on the parliament's website on Monday, out of 199 Hungarian lawmakers, only 47 took part in the vote on the inclusion of the ratification of Sweden's application on the parliamentary agenda. The head of the Hungarian prime minister's office, Gergely Gulyas, said earlier in the day that members of Fidesz and the KDNP, which have a total of 133 seats, would not take part in the emergency session, which had been called on the initiative of the opposition Momentum Movement, supported by five other opposition parties.

Zsolt Nemeth, the chairman of the Hungarian parliament's foreign affairs committee, noted in mid-July that the Hungarian parliament would begin the ratification process for Sweden's NATO bid after the start of the fall session in mid-September, as it was impractical to convene an early session.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated in mid-June that Budapest and Ankara had agreed to keep each other informed of any steps they took regarding Sweden's NATO accession. Szijjarto also reiterated Hungary's earlier promise that it would not be the last country to give the green light to Sweden's NATO membership.

On March 27, the Hungarian parliament voted for the ratification of Finland's accession to NATO. At the time, Fidesz leader Mate Kocsis said that the decision on Sweden would be made later. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs later explained the delay by claiming that Sweden was constantly undermining its relations with Hungary and demonstrating "moral superiority".

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban mentioned in February that more talks between parliamentary groups were needed before lawmakers voted on ratification, because some of them believed that 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.