Hungary Ratifies Sweden's NATO Bid

Hungary's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO bid, clearing the final obstacle for an enlargement of the military alliance spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The vote ended more than a year of delays that left fellow NATO partners furious as Ukraine battled Russian troops.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said it was a "historic day".

Russia's February 2022 invasion prompted Sweden and neighboring Finland to apply to join the bloc, ending a long-standing stance of non-alignment in both countries.

But while Finland became the 31st member of the US-led defense alliance in April last year, Sweden's bid was held up. Turkey only ratified it last month.

Hungary finally followed, with 188 members of parliament voting in favor and six against Sweden's accession.

"Today is a historic day... Sweden stands ready to shoulder its responsibility for Euro-Atlantic security," Kristersson said in a statement.

Earlier Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor had asked fellow lawmakers to approve Sweden's bid.

"The Swedish-Hungarian military cooperation and Sweden's accession to NATO will strengthen Hungary's security," Orban told parliament.

Ahead of the vote, Orban's nationalist Fidesz party -- whose ruling coalition with the Christian Democratic KDNP holds a two-thirds majority in parliament -- had indicated it would support Sweden's bid.

All opposition parties except the far-right Our Homeland movement were in favor of ratification.

Though repeatedly saying it supported Swedish membership in principle, Hungary kept prolonging the process by asking Stockholm to stop "vilifying" the Hungarian government.

Budapest accused Swedish officials of being "keen to bash Hungary" on rule-of-law issues.