Hungary’s parliament speaker signs off on Sweden’s Nato accession

Hungarian Parliament Speaker Laszlo Kover take part in ceremony of unveiling the bust of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski on the occasion of 100 years of Poland’s independence in Budapest, Hungary, September 26, 2018. REUTERS

BUDAPEST — Hungarian parliament speaker Sandor Lezsak has signed off on the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession and forwarded the legislation to the president’s office for promulgation, voting records on parliament’s website showed on Saturday.

Lawmakers approved Sweden’s NATO accession on Feb. 26, clearing the last hurdle before the historic step by the Nordic country whose neutrality lasted through two world wars and the Cold War.

READ: Sweden set to join Nato after Hungary approves bid

The Hungarian vote ended months of delays to complete Sweden’s security policy shift and followed a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, during which the two countries signed an arms deal.

READ: Does Sweden joining make the Baltic Sea a ‘Nato lake’?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has faced pressure from NATO allies to fall in line and seal Sweden’s accession to the alliance. Hungary’s president now has up to five days to promulgate the legislation.

Stockholm abandoned its non-alignment policy for greater safety within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.