Hungarian Parliament Speaker Approves Sweden's NATO Membership Application

According to information on the Hungarian Parliament 's website, on March 2, Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover signed a bill approving Sweden's application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and forwarded the document to the President's Office for promulgation.

Previously, on February 26, with 188 votes in favor and 6 votes against, the Hungarian Parliament voted to approve Sweden's request, ending more than 18 months of delay in this decision. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the Hungarian President in the next 5 days.

Sweden first applied to join NATO in May 2022, requiring unanimous approval from all members of the alliance. After Türkiye approved Sweden’s bid last month, Hungary was the last of the alliance’s 31 members to make the decision. The vote in the Hungarian parliament cleared the last hurdle to Sweden’s bid for NATO membership.

According to VNA