Hungary’s parliament has finally approved  Sweden’s NATO membership on Monday, ending a painful delay of over 18 months. This delay has irritated the alliance as it seeks to expand in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

In 2022, Hungary’s government submitted a protocol to endorse Sweden’s NATO entry. However, the issue has been stuck in parliament ever since, facing opposition from lawmakers. Admitting new countries into NATO requires unanimous support from all member states, and Hungary is the only member among the alliance’s 31 members, having not provided its backing yet.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has built warm ties with Russia, has said earlier that criticism of Hungary’s democracy by Swedish politicians was badly affected relations between the two countries and caused reservations among lawmakers in his Fidesz party. However, there was a good hope that the session on Monday will give consent to Sweden’s membership into NATO, by removing the final hurdle since May 2022.

On Friday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson had a meeting with Orban in Budapest, where they seem to have reached a mutual consent. After their meeting, they declared the finalisation of a defense agreement, that includes Hungary’s purchase of four Swedish-made JAS 39 Gripen jets and an extension of the service contract for its existing Gripen fleet.

PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA

“To be a member of NATO together with another country means we are ready to die for each other,” Orban stated.

In recent past, other NATO members and the European Union have escalated pressure on Hungary to withdraw its objections to Sweden’s membership.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson termed it “a historic day” and added “We stand ready to shoulder our share of the responsibility for NATO’s security,” on Social Media X (Formerly Known as Twitter).

NATO is a 32 member alliance now.

What is NATO?

NATO- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

It is a military alliance of 32 member states now– 30 European and two North American.

NATO was formed after World war-II to defend each other & the primary aim was to prevent any misadventure of any dictatorship in Europe. In Cold war era & Russo-Ukrainian War, NATO was effective in standing up to Russian aggression.