Hungary postpones the signing of Sweden’s NATO membership – 2024-02-27 19:35:38

On Monday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was informed by phone about the voting result of the Hungarian Parliament. Running out of signatures will delay the official part. EPA / AOP

Hungary has postponed the signing of Sweden’s NATO membership, delaying Sweden’s accession to the military alliance once again.

According to Dagens Nyheter, the signing will not take place this week.

Yesterday, Monday, the Hungarian Parliament voted 188-6 in favor of Sweden’s NATO membership. However, the signature confirming the voting result can wait for itself.

The postponement delays Sweden’s official accession to NATO. So the official ceremonies in Washington and Brussels have to be postponed.

Hungary’s foreign minister forces Sweden to withdraw Tobias Billströmin the trip to Washington planned for Wednesday, Dagens Nyheter reports.

Sweden’s path towards NATO membership has been tortuous. The application process was launched together with Finland in the spring of 2022. Finland officially joined NATO in April last year, while Sweden has stumbled in the application process with both Turkey and Hungary.

After the Hungarian parliament voted in favor of Sweden’s membership, the last hurdle had to be crossed. However, Hungary found one more way to delay the process.

If the voting result of the Hungarian Parliament had been confirmed by a signature, Sweden would have become a NATO member on Wednesday.

According to Dagens Nyheter, the signing may take place the week of Tuesday, March 5, when Hungary’s new president Tamas Sulyok takes office.

Edited on 27/02/2024 at 21:29: Tamas Sulyok is the new president of Hungary, not Turkey.