Charles Michel welcomes Hungary’s decision, which strengthens “Euro-Atlantic security” with Sweden

The President of the European Council welcomed this Monday the decision of the Hungarian Parliament to ratify Sweden’s accession protocol to NATO, almost two years after the start of the process, considering it a “historic day” for Euro-Atlantic security.

“I welcome the decision of the Hungarian parliament to ratify the protocol on Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. [NATO]This is a historic day for Euro-Atlantic security,” wrote Charles Michel on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

The European Council President added that the inclusion of a 32nd ally would strengthen the EU and the Atlantic Alliance to “face a more dangerous world together.”

“The EU-NATO partnership is stronger than ever,” he added.

This Monday, the Hungarian parliament ratified Sweden’s entry into NATO, the last step needed for the Scandinavian country, which wanted to join the Atlantic Alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Stockholm’s candidacy was approved by an overwhelming majority of deputies (188 votes out of 199 seats) after a wait of almost two years.

With ratification a month ago by the Turkish parliament, Hungary became the last of the 31 alliance members that has not yet approved Sweden’s entry into a process that began almost two years ago and has so far been blocked by the two countries.

Ratification by the Hungarian parliament, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, has been delayed several times, with MPs from the party justifying the delay, for example, by citing “unfair” criticism from Sweden of policies and democratic drift in Hungary. also condemned by the European Union.

On Friday, Orban announced at a press conference with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson that “the necessary decisions that will complete this stage” will be taken at a parliament meeting this Monday.

At the same time, Orban also announced the purchase of four combat aircraft from Sweden, demonstrating his desire to strengthen military cooperation.

“Today (23 February) we have reached an agreement to add four aircraft to the Hungarian Armed Forces Gripen fighter-bomber fleet,” in addition to the 14 aircraft already in service on lease since 2006, he said.

Agreements related to the maintenance and servicing of these devices were also signed.

Orban assured that the operation was not related to the ratification of Sweden’s entry into NATO and said that restoring trust between the two countries was a long process, but acknowledged that the acquisition of fighter jets “will contribute to its restoration.”

At the time, the head of the Swedish government avoided criticizing Hungary and said that when a country asks to become a NATO member, it knows that this request must be ratified by all countries.

“We respect that the Hungarian parliament took its decision more slowly,” Kristersson said, saying the two countries would continue to look for points of cooperation.

The official said that Hungary and Sweden, despite their differences, are partners in the European Union, “and soon in NATO.”

“We disagree with Hungary on a number of issues, but we agree on one thing: we must cooperate on issues on which we have common positions. Both countries are members of the EU, and soon NATO,” he said.

The announcement of the Swedish government official’s visit came shortly after Fidesz MPs announced last Tuesday that they had asked the parliament president to put the issue on the agenda.