2024-02-16 22:51:30
A bipartisan delegation from the US Congress will visit Hungary on Sunday. The visit is part of increasing pressure on Budapest to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO when Hungary’s parliament convenes for its new session after the winter break, Reuters reported.
The American embassy announced that the senators are arriving “on a mission, the main subject of which are the strategic issues facing NATO and Hungary”, BTA reported.
Hungary is the only Alliance country that has not yet ratified Sweden’s application to join, a procedure that requires the approval of all members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Budapest’s reluctance to finally endorse Stockholm’s bid has strained relations with the US and caused concern among allies, Reuters notes.
Sweden applied for NATO membership in May 2022, a historic shift in Stockholm’s traditional foreign policy of neutrality, and the decision to take this step was a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has better relations with Russia than with many other EU and NATO countries, says his government generally supports the Nordic country’s joining the alliance, but the process of approving its application by the Hungarian parliament remains frozen.
Sweden’s accession to NATO is a matter that directly affects US national security and the security of the Alliance as a whole, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said this month.
Stockholm’s bid could be ratified by parliament later this month when it convenes for its new session after the winter recess, the ruling Fidesz parliamentary group said. On Wednesday, Sweden’s foreign minister said he expected Hungary to approve his country’s membership application soon.