The Hungarian Parliament has voted to ratify Finland’s membership in NATO. The country’s candidacy for membership of the North Atlantic Alliance was supported by 182 MPs, six against, informed Associated Press.
The vote in the Hungarian National Assembly has been postponed several times. It was last postponed due to Budapest now focusing on negotiations with the European Commission over allegations of rule of law violations by Hungary.
Finland must now obtain official approval from Turkey. The Turkish parliament will examine the accession protocol this week.
Finland applied to join NATO with Sweden in May 2022, saying events in Ukraine had prompted them to take such a step. After that, Turkey said it was ready to support Finland’s claim separately, while the republic has several claims against Sweden.
The Turkish authorities notably accuse Stockholm of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Ankara considers to be terrorists. In January 2023, relations between the countries became complicated due to the burning of the Quran near the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
At the same time, Finland has indicated that Helsinki can continue the process of joining the alliance without being tied to Stockholm’s candidacy. At the beginning of March, the Finnish parliament voted for the country’s entry into NATO. The corresponding bill was supported by 184 deputies out of 200, seven voted against, one abstained.
On March 18, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö in Ankara, announced that Ankara would begin the process of approving Finland’s NATO membership. . March 23 Finnish President Sauli Niinistö sign block affiliation laws.
The decision to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership could be taken later. So far, Stockholm’s candidacy has not been considered by either Budapest or Ankara.
