UPDATE: Hungary still not ready to ratify Sweden’s NATO application

UPDATE: Wednesday, November 22 at 7:52 pm

THE issue of approving Sweden’s NATO membership is not on next week’s agenda for the Hungarian parliament to discuss.

According to svt.se, Ágnes Vadai, a Hungarian member of parliament, informed TT this Wednesday, November 22, that the ratification application would not be among the list of items on the agenda when parliament sat.

The same MP had also revealed last week to TT that this week’s parliamentary session would not include Sweden’s application.

This follows last week’s decision by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee to postpone an expected discussion on the same issue because the time ‘was not ripe’.

——————————————————————

Wednesday, November 15 at 5:51 pm

THE Hungarian parliament is not ready to ratify Sweden’s NATO application.

Ágnes Vadai, a member of parliament in Budapest, confirmed to TT this Wednesday, November 15, that it is not on the agenda for next week’s parliamentary session, according to svt.se.

Previously, Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, insisted that his country would not be the last one to ratify the Swedish application to become a member of the Alliance.

He said that its approval was only a technicality through parliament, as the matter has already been debated and dealt with in earlier committee sessions. Along with Turkey, Hungary is the only other country to not yet ratify the application.

Why has ratification been delayed?

However, a vote on the matter has still not taken place, with several postponements occurring. The latest delay came after officials in Budapest demanded an explanation from Stockholm about the recent criticism that Swedish politicians – in common with many other European politicians – had directed at the country’s democratic development.

On Tuesday 14, Reuters reported a source informing them that the Swedish NATO application was third on the official agenda when the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee meets this Thursday 16, at 1 pm local time.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted Sweden’s application to parliament around three weeks ago. It must first pass the foreign affairs committee before it can be voted on by the full General Assembly. Mr Erdogan said he would accept whatever decision was made by parliament.