Hungarian PM Orban calls on party to back Finnish, Swedish Nato bids
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Hungarian PM Orban calls on party to back Finnish, Swedish Nato bids
The Hungarian Parliament is due to debate the membership bids by the two Nordic nations next week.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Image: Arpad Kurucz / AOP YLE NEWS
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has instructed his Fidesz party to back Finland and Sweden's bids to join Nato, as the Hungarian Parliament prepares to debate the membership applications next week.
Orbán has previously stated that he favours ratifying the applications of the two Nordic nations, but the ranks of his party are split on the issue, according to a report(siirryt toiseen palveluun) by the Hungarian news outlet Telex.
Fidesz parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis told a press conference on Thursday that the party has held internal discussions on the question of ratifying the bids, as some Fidesz MPs believe accepting Finland and Sweden into the alliance could mean an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
In addition, several Fidesz MEPs expressed their disappointment that Finnish and Swedish politicians have previously insulted Hungary — but now they are asking Hungary for a favour.
In its report, Telex does not specify which insults the MPs are referring to, but they are likely to relate to the EU's criticism of Hungary over the suspected breaching(siirryt toiseen palveluun) of EU laws by Hungarian authorities.
Kocsis noted that he has asked the President of the Hungarian Parliament to send a delegation to Finland and Sweden to clarify the MPs' concerns, but he did not reveal how many Fidesz MPs were hesitant or opposed to ratifying the Nato applications.
"We have no figures. We had a conversation," Kocsis said.
According to Telex, the hesitation among Fidesz MPs does not necessarily mean there will be a delay in the parliamentary process, and Kocsis also thinks it is unlikely that the vote will be postponed.
So far, 28 of the 30 Nato member states have ratified the Finnish and Swedish applications, with Hungary and Turkey the only countries yet to do so.