Hungary delays ratification of Sweden's NATO membership
Hungary's parliament will not ratify Sweden's NATO membership before the summer recess as it has not included the vote in the agenda of next week's session, Hungarian online media reported on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Parliament's press office did not confirm the reports, saying the agenda of next week's session would be finalised at a meeting of the house committee on Thursday. In a Facebook post, leftist opposition lawmaker Agnes Vadai said Orban would not put the vote on Sweden's NATO accession on next week's agenda. The Swedish Foreign Ministry did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Sweden and Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, seeking greater security by joining NATO. Finland became a NATO member in April but the process has been slower for Sweden.
Sweden has set its sights on joining at the alliance's July 11-12 summit and while it has strong support from other members including the United States, both Turkey and Hungary have so far held back from ratification.
