According to Hungary correspondent Stefan Bos, the Hungarian government will only consider approving both countries’ membership next month. “Then Hungary would be the last NATO country after Turkey that has not yet agreed to join, and this causes irritation in Brussels”.
At the same time, Hungary is still waiting for a big bag of money, among other things, from the European corona recovery fund. But the European Commission is demanding that the country first complete a long list of measures to restore the rule of law before Brussels pays even one euro.
Although it is NATO, the Hungarian opposition suspects that Prime Minister Orbán is trying to put pressure on Europe in this way. After all, it is in the interests of European security that Sweden and Finland join the alliance.’
Orbán says he “wants to think calmly about the accession of Sweden and Finland,” says Bos. “He says everything will be fine, but he’ll be thrilled because in Scandinavia they don’t want to wait long if tension in Ukraine continues to rise.”