Sweden Still Sees Hungary Ratifying Its NATO Bid Before Turkey

Niclas Rolander
·2 min read
19

(Bloomberg) -- Sweden still expects Hungary to ratify its NATO application before Turkey, and is therefore focused on making sure that Ankara doesn’t hold up the Nordic country’s accession to the western military alliance, according to Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom.

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“The Hungarian government has consistently been clear that Sweden would be a valuable addition to NATO, and most importantly they have said that they won’t be the last country to ratify,” Billstrom told reporters in Stockholm on Tuesday. “Sooner or later they will have to live up to that.”

The comments come as Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains held up by Hungary and Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week sent a ratification bill to the parliament in Ankara following more than a year of negotiations between the two countries. Unlike Erdogan, Hungary’s government has never set conditions on Sweden for approving its accession, according to Billstrom.

While Hungary’s government has submitted its bill to parliament more than a year ago, no vote has yet been scheduled. Members of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet have suggested that Sweden can’t take Hungarian support for granted as they have been hurt by statements from Swedish officials and media about perceived deterioration of democracy under Orban’s rule.

Read More: Turkish Progress on Sweden’s NATO Bid Turns Focus on Hungary

Billstrom said he had been assured by his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto that Budapest will stick to the promise that it won’t be the last to complete the process.

That means Sweden remains focused on the Turkish parliament, Billstrom said. There, the foreign relations committee could start a debate on the bill this week. Its passage also requires sign off from the entire assembly.

Read More: Turkey Parliament May Start Debate on Sweden NATO Bid Next Week

Turkey’s reluctance has been motivated by criticism that Stockholm hasn’t done enough to crack down on supporters of separatist Kurdish militants that Turkey regards as terrorists, but Erdogan has also linked the membership issue to negotiations with the US to purchase F-16 fighter jets.

Billstrom said while there is “obviously a connection” between the ratification of Sweden’s membership and the F-16 deal, Sweden has no insight to the process, which involves the US, Turkey and Greece.

--With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu.

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