Hungarian parliament speaker Sandor Lezsak signed off on ratifying Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Saturday.
According to Reuters, the legislation was then forwarded to the president’s office for promulgation. The voting records on the parliament’s website showed that lawmakers had approved Sweden’s NATO accession on February 26th, marking a historic step for the Nordic country.
Sweden’s neutrality lasted through two world wars and the Cold War, and this decision to join NATO is a significant shift in their security policy. The Hungarian vote ended months of delays and followed a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, during which the two countries signed an arms deal.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has long faced pressure from NATO allies to fall in line and seal Sweden’s accession to the alliance.
Hungary’s president now has up to five days to promulgate the legislation. Stockholm abandoned its non-alignment policy for greater safety within the NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
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