It took 21 months of bitter negotiations, threats, and promises – accompanied by a great deal of diplomatic maneuvering – to finally reach an epilogue. On Monday, February 26, Hungarian MPs passed by 188 votes to 6 the protocol for Sweden's accession to NATO. This vote removes the last obstacle to a process that began just after Russia invaded Ukraine, back in February 2022, and should enable Sweden to become the 32nd member of NATO in the next few days.
Throughout this arduous journey, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban had adamantly asserted his nation would not be the final one to endorse the Swedish candidacy. However, this pledge remained unfulfilled. Even after Turkey lifted its veto at the end of January, it took a visit from Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest on Friday to prompt Hungarian lawmakers to finally cast their votes.
During the visit, the two heads of government signed a cooperation agreement, confirming Budapest's purchase of four fighter jets from Sweden, in addition to the fourteen Gripen aircraft that Hungary already leases from Swedish manufacturer Saab and will own from 2026. Referring to the renewed "trust" between the two countries, Mr. Orban announced that nothing now stood in the way of Sweden joining NATO.
Two years ago, this prospect was ruled out. "Our non-participation in military alliances serves us well and contributes to stability and security in northern Europe," Social Democrat foreign minister Ann Linde told MPs on February 16, 2022, summing up what a majority of them thought at the time. The Nordic country had not experienced war for over two centuries, and although it had long since abandoned its neutrality, going so far as to sign a partnership agreement with NATO in 2016, joining the Alliance was not on the agenda.
In a now-famous speech to the Social Democratic Party congress in November 2021, defense minister Peter Hultqvist pledged that, as long as his party was in government, "There will be no application for membership [of Sweden in NATO] as long as we have a social-democratic government." On March 8, 2022, two weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine, prime minister Magdalena Andersson maintained this line, saying it was "best that we keep a cool head, have both feet on the ground, and have a long-term and predictable security policy line."
But the Swedes were soon forced to face the facts: their Finnish neighbors seemed determined to join the Atlantic Alliance, regardless of Sweden's decision, which could leave the country isolated. In a matter of weeks, the Social Democrats, along with the far-right Sweden Democrats, changed their position, enabling the country to officially apply for NATO membership, jointly with Finland, on May 18, 2022.
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