Hungary Approves Sweden Joining NATO
Lawmakers in Hungary gave their approval Monday to Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Sweden would become the 32nd member of the alliance, which it applied to join in 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland, which applied alongside Sweden, became a NATO member last year. Additions to the alliance must be unanimously approved by existing members, and Hungary is the only NATO country that has yet to ratify Sweden’s accession. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing nationalist who has forged close ties with Russia, has said that criticism of Hungary’s democracy from Swedish politicians had soured relations between the two countries and made lawmakers in his Fidesz party reluctant to approve Sweden’s NATO accession. The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports. Subscribe
VOA News