Sweden is set to become the 32nd member state of NATO after its application was finally ratified by the Hungarian parliament on Monday.
During the first session of the spring parliament, lawmakers in Budapest approved the Scandinavian nation’s bid to join the defense alliance by 188 votes to six.
The final convention to seal the process is presidential approval which, in the absence of a sitting head of state following the recent resignation of Katalin Novák, will be executed by the current speaker of parliament.
“Before we let a new member into this alliance, we must first settle our disputes. Hungary and Sweden, as long-established European countries, know how to resolve our differences without the need for unsolicited guardianship or disrespectful intervention,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in a parliamentary address ahead of the vote.
He referenced the long-standing concerns many lawmakers within his governing Fidesz party have had with Swedish government officials and MEPs who have disparaging remarks about Hungary’s democracy.
Orbán had insisted on a working visit to Budapest by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ahead of Hungary’s ratification of the application, a visit that took place on Friday.
“A historic day. All NATO countries’ parliaments have now voted for Sweden’s NATO membership. We stand ready to shoulder our share of the responsibility for NATO’s security,” Kristersson wrote on X.
“I welcome the Hungarian parliament’s vote to ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO. Now that all Allies have approved, Sweden will become the 32nd NATO Ally. Sweden’s membership will make us all stronger and safer,” added NATO’s current secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg.
Sweden will follow its neighbor Finland as the latest member state to join the defense alliance after Helsinki’s application was approved last year.
