Hungary Delays Finland and Sweden NATO Vote to Gain Ground in EU Dispute

Hungarian lawmakers are delaying a crucial vote on the NATO accession bid of Finland and Sweden in a move that analysts believe is designed to exert pressure on the EU. The Union has frozen billions of euros in funding destined to Hungary over rule of law concerns and Budapest may be playing quid for pro with the ratification of the two Nordic nations’ accession to the military bloc.

Sweden and Finland applied last year to become members of the transatlantic military alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Under NATO rules, all 30 member countries must ratify the applications. Two countries have yet to give a green light to the process: Hungary and Turkey. Hungary’s parliament this month postponed a ratification vote twice in two weeks, and has not given a firm date on when the vote might take place.

Tit for tat
Hungary is not openly opposed to Sweden and Finland becoming NATO members, quite on the contrary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his ruling Fidesz party have expressed their support of the accession bids. A Hungarian delegation visiting the two countries also signaled it was supportive of the expansion. “We have already confirmed to both Finland and Sweden that Hungary supports” their NATO bids, Orbán said last November. “The Swedes and the Finns have not lost a single minute of membership because of Hungary, and Hungary will certainly give them the support they need to join.”
Nevertheless, a succession of delays by Hungary and the changing reasoning behind it are suggesting that the country may have a hidden agenda. Hungarian politicians are also sending conflicting messages about the issue.
"How can a country [Sweden] expect a favor [NATO ratification] from us when its politicians continually and repeatedly spread lies about Hungary?," Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said last month in a Facebook post. "How can they [Finland and Sweden] expect speedy and fair decisions when, during the recent period, all we were hearing is there's no democracy in Hungary, the rule of law is not guaranteed in Hungary […]," the minister added. Orbán echoed the same thoughts in a radio interview in February when he said “It’s not right for (Sweden and Finland) to ask us to take them on board while they’re spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about democracy, about life here … Can anyone want to be our ally in a military system while they’re shamelessly spreading lies about Hungary?”
Political analysts believe Orbán’s government is trying to exert pressure on the European Union by delaying the vote. Hungary is mired in a long-standing dispute with Brussels over rule of law and corruption issues, which has led to the EU freezing billions of euros in funds destined for Hungary. Péter Krekó, analyst at the Political Capital think-tank in Budapest said that Hungary engaged in an "obvious blackmail" to unfreeze the funds. Dániel Hegedüs, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund told AP that Hungary was hoping to “push the Swedes and the Finns to support a potential release of the Hungarian funds in April, or at least make these countries not vocally critical.”
This would not be the first time that Hungary tried to exert pressure on the EU. Orbán previously threatened to block parts of the EU’s sanctions against Russia and vetoed an EUR 18 billion aid package to Ukraine.
Though Orbán and his government may hope to win concessions from the EU by dragging out the NATO vote, they have likely “overplayed their hand,” as the patience and trust of Hungary’s allies begins to wear thin, Hegedüs said. “Hungary was treated as a NATO and EU ally whose government can be ultimately trusted because it’s one of us. Now, I think this perception is gone. Hungary will be treated differently because all of the partners know that trust is the last thing they can afford vis-a-vis Orbán,” he added.