The Obstruction of Sweden’s Accession to NATO: Hungary’s Refusal and its Consequences

After Turkey, Hungary is now also obstructing Sweden’s accession to NATO. Despite NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaking of progress in the process. The US is displeased with Hungary’s refusal and has put a $735 million arms deal on hold. ‘This has hit the opposition like a bomb, in particular,’ says Hungary correspondent Stefan Bos.

Hungary is displeased with Sweden’s public criticism of Hungary’s violations of press freedom, the rule of law and corruption. Sweden has spoken out loudly about this and, according to the Hungarian government, Sweden must back down, says Bos. The top Republican senator on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has now dealt with consequences for Hungary’s obstruction and halted a planned $735 million arms shipment.

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Isolated

‘That message has hit the opposition like a bombshell,’ says Bos. The opposition points out how much Hungary is also at risk of becoming isolated within NATO. According to Bos, however, the country has pulled another trick out of the bag of tricks: the deal with the Americans was already off the table anyway. For example, the Hungarian defense minister stated that the deal had been in place for much longer, and that the Americans would not have met a deadline in March last year.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbàn also has his say when it comes to not agreeing to Swedish membership. According to Bos, the prime minister himself says he is in favor of accession, but it is up to parliament to agree. ‘Those parliamentarians from his party act as a kind of applause machine and they have a majority in parliament. So that could take a while.’

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Bos also points out that the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs said in an interview with a very conservative American television station that he hopes that Trump will return to the White House soon because Hungary can do better business with it.

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Never mind that the Hungarians are now dropping a $735 million cake. Bos calls the missile systems in question crucial, insofar as they have made the Russian advance in Ukraine impossible. ‘These systems are specifically intended for the eastern flank of NATO. Poland already received the first delivery of that system last month and Hungary was supposed to receive it. So they shoot themselves in the foot too.’

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