Hungary names three reasons for rejecting Sweden’s NATO membership

“In the case of Sweden, there are a lot of claims that need to be resolved before the country’s admission is ratified,” a Hungarian government spokesman said.

In an article published on Wednesday, the spokesman for the Hungarian government, Zoltan Kovacs, named three reasons why his country rejected Sweden’s application to join NATO.

“In the case of Sweden, there are a lot of claims that need to be resolved before the country’s admission is ratified,” Kovacs said.

The first reason is that “Sweden constantly undermines relations”said the senior official. According to him, “Swedish representatives have repeatedly endeavored to hit Hungary through diplomatic means, using their political influence to harm Hungarian interests.”

Specifically, Kovacs recalled that the prime minister of the Nordic nation, Ulf Kristersson, in 2021 called for pressure on Budapest and support for the local opposition.

Likewise, the spokesperson for the Hungarian government argued that “the above suggests a false moral superiority which, in the best of cases, is derisory”. “It was not the ‘xenophobic’ Hungarian State nor its ‘oppressive regime’ who openly burned the Koran in the middle of the negotiation process for the admission of Sweden to NATO, a process in which that a great Muslim power was involved,” he said.

Another reason why Budapest rejected Stockholm’s request is because “lack of attention and respect”Kovacs noted. “Relations between our countries have been fraying over the years, which makes it more difficult to bridge the gap in these difficult times,” he stressed, adding that Hungary is not against NATO enlargement.

In this context, the spokesperson referred to a Politico article describing the visit of a Hungarian delegation to Stockholm in early March as a “blackmail tactic”.

• The Hungarian Parliament approved Finland’s accession to NATO on Monday, but there was no vote on Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance. Now only the ratification of Turkey is missing to formally invite Finland to become part of the military bloc.