GPS News
SUPERPOWERS
Swedish PM to visit Hungary ahead of NATO bid vote
Swedish PM to visit Hungary ahead of NATO bid vote
By Andras ROSTOVANYI
Budapest (AFP) Feb 20, 2024

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will meet Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban on Friday, three days ahead of a key parliamentary vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO, officials said Tuesday.

Following Turkey's ratification last month, Hungary remains the last NATO member stopping Sweden from joining the alliance.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, at the same time as Finland.

Although it says it supports Stockholm in principle, Budapest prolonged the process by asking Sweden to stop "vilifying" Orban's nationalist government.

Kristersson's talks with Orban in Budapest will include "defence and security policy cooperation between Hungary and Sweden," the Swedish government said in a statement.

Orban wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that it would be his "pleasure" to welcome Kristersson to Budapest.

Hungary's parliament will vote on Sweden's NATO bid on Monday.

Earlier, when announcing the vote, Mate Kocsis, leader of the ruling party Fidesz parliamentary group, said his group "intended to support" Sweden's membership.

- Rebuild trust -

Orban announced on Saturday that Hungary was "on course" to ratify Sweden's bid.

"The good news is that our current dispute with Sweden is moving towards a conclusion," he sad.

"Together with the Swedish PM, we have taken important steps in order to rebuild trust," he said, without giving details.

Asked about the remarks, Kristersson said Monday that he did not know what Orban had meant.

"I simply think there is a strong will to finalise this process of NATO accession," Kristersson said.

Swedish officials have insisted there would be no negotiations on ratification. Orban at first posted on X, the former Twitter, that he invited Kristersson to "negotiate".

In an invitation letter, he did not use the word "negotiate" but said he was inviting him to "exchange views on all issues of common interest".

Budapest has often denounced what it called Sweden's "openly hostile attitude", accusing Swedish representatives of being "repeatedly keen to bash Hungary" on rule-of-law issues.

Since Orban returned to power in 2010, the nationalist premier has cemented his power with critics accusing him of democratic backsliding.

Orban -- the sole EU leader to have maintained ties with the Kremlin after the invasion of Ukraine -- also frequently clashes with Brussels over rule-of-law, LGBTQ and asylum seeker rights and other issues.

Brussels has frozen billions of euros amid suspicions that European funds were being misused.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday criticised Hungary's "unacceptable" delay in ratifying Sweden's NATO accession with the Russia-Ukraine war raging.

Over the weekend, a group of bipartisan US senators visited Hungary to press the country over Sweden's bid. The government refused to meet with them.

NATO membership applications require unanimous ratifications by all alliance members.

Finland became the 31st member of the military alliance in April.

bur-jza/tw

X

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SUPERPOWERS
Hungary to vote on Swedish NATO bid on Monday: ruling party
Budapest (AFP) Feb 20, 2024
Hungary, the last holdout on Sweden's bid to join NATO, will vote on the issue on Monday, a senior official with the Fidesz ruling party said. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden applied to join the US-led Western military alliance in May 2022, at the same time as Finland. Although it supports Stockholm in principle, Budapest prolonged the process by asking Sweden to stop "vilifying" Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which critics accuse of authoritarianism. Mate Kocsis, Fides ... read more

SUPERPOWERS
EU CO2 rules boost farmers, annoy environment activists

Singapore engineer pivots from oil rigs to 'fish farm of the future'

Livestock insurance offers hope to drought-hit Somalis

China agrees to lift ban on Spanish beef imports

SUPERPOWERS
US to give GlobalFoundries $1.5bln to boost domestic chip production

Nvidia quarterly profit soars on demand for AI chips

Technique could improve the sensitivity of quantum sensing devices

Magnesium protects tantalum, a promising material for making qubits

SUPERPOWERS
Drones, F-16s: a guide to Ukraine military aid pledges

France complains of Russian 'threats' to military

Singapore to require gradual use of low-carbon jet fuel from 2026

Boeing says ready for competition with China-made plane

SUPERPOWERS
Japan's electric vehicle transition by 2035 may be insufficient to combat the climate crisis, but there are solutions

Cheap mini-EVs sparkle in China's smaller, poorer cities

Tesla's German factory expansion plans suffer setback

Chinese EV giant BYD expects record net profit for 2023

SUPERPOWERS
Attacked ship catches fire in Gulf of Aden near Yemen

Youth appetite for gold rises as Chinese economy loses lustre

China shares end higher as central bank cuts key rate

Huthi missile attack damages British-owned ship off Yemen

SUPERPOWERS
A century of reforestation helped keep the eastern US cool

New mayor hopes trees will cool Athens down

Amazon rainforest may face tipping point by 2050: study

China-funded nickel hub stoking deforestation on Indonesia island: report

SUPERPOWERS
ASIA-AQ Mission: A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding Air Pollution

Esri Unveils Landsat Explorer: A New Era in Satellite Imagery Analysis

New Deep Learning Approach to Boost Aerosol Measurement Accuracy in Space

Meet NASA's Twin Spacecraft Headed to the Ends of the Earth

SUPERPOWERS
Researchers unveil novel technique for creating atomically thin nanoscrolls

MIT.nano equipment to accelerate innovation in "tough tech" sectors

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.