Sweden will finally be admitted into NATO after Hungary gave its approval. Hungary was the only NATO country that had not ratified Sweden's application, a process that requires the backing of all NATO members. Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in a historic shift in a policy prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey was the only other NATO holdout, but the Turkish parliament voted its approval for Swedish membership last month.
Earlier this month, lawmakers from Hungary's governing Fidesz party boycotted an emergency parliament session in which a vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO was on the agenda.
Prime Minister Viktor Orba'n, a right-wing nationalist who has forged close ties with Russia, has said that Swedish criticism of Hungary's democracy had soured relations between the two countries and led to reluctance among lawmakers in his Fidesz party to permit Sweden's admittance to NATO.
Orba'n is accused of using the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the influx of Ukrainian refugees as well as his government's ruling power to govern with a heavy hand and institute non-democratic norms. His close association with Russia and China doesn't help and people accuse Orba'n of having better ties with Russia than with other EU and NATO members.
Orba'n and his right-wing Fidesz party have also been viewed as an example of democratic backsliding. Political interference by the country's legislative and executive branches of government appears to be threatening the institutional independence of the judiciary, creating a situation that does not allow for proper checks and balances.
Back in 2022, the European Parliament determined that Hungary can no longer be considered a full democracy and had instead become an "electoral autocracy".
The European Parliament was also concerned about several political areas concerning democracy and fundamental rights in Hungary, including the "functioning of its constitutional and electoral system, the independence of the judiciary, corruption and conflicts of interest and freedom of expression, including media pluralism".
The Parliament was also concerned about "academic freedom, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to equal treatment, including LGBTIQ rights, the rights of minorities, as well as those of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees".
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators was recently on an official visit to Hungary and called on the nationalist government to immediately approve Sweden's request to join NATO.
The delegation was investigating several issues, including Hungary's NATO policy, Sweden's NATO accession and other controversial topics.
The US senators criticized Orba'n's increasingly warm relations with Russia and China even though he has opened the country's doors to Ukrainian refugees.
Orba'n, widely considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest EU ally, has long been criticized for turning his back on the EU bloc's standards on democracy.
The delay in ratifying Sweden's NATO application has also soured Budapest's relations with the United States and raised concerns among its allies.
Hungary's government has apparently adopted an increasingly belligerent stance toward U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, accusing the U.S. of attempting to influence Hungarian citizens and their way of life.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
