By Le Figaro with AFP

Published on 03/23/2023 at 14:42 , updatedon 03/23/2023 at 15:49

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The Swedish Prime Minister pledged on Thursday to demand clarification from Hungary, as he goes to a European summit in Brussels.

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The Swedish Prime Minister will ask Hungary for explanations on Thursday on the reasons why the Hungarian Parliament chose to approve Finland’s entry into NATO before Sweden , he announced.

“ I will ask why they separate Sweden from Finland. These are signals that we had not had before ,” Ulf Kristersson told Swedish radio SR, adding that he “ absolutely ” intended to talk about it with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban on Thursday. The two men are taking part in an EU summit in Brussels, with Sweden holding the presidency of the 27 until the end of June.

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Hungarian delay worries Sweden

The Hungarian Parliament surprised last week by setting a ratification date for Finland’s membership, which will take place on Monday, but not for Sweden’s which will take place “ later ”. The news added to the problems of Stockholm, whose historic entry into the military alliance is blocked by Turkey, while the way is now wide open for its Finnish neighbor.

Ankara notably accuses Sweden of being a haven for Kurdish ” terrorist ” militants, and of refusing extraditions – where it is actually Swedish justice that has the last word. Only Ankara and Budapest have yet to ratify the accession of the two Nordic countries, historically non-aligned. The 28 other members of NATO (United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, etc.) have already done so. The nationalist government of Mr. Orban claims to support the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO but argues that its parliamentary majority is too uncertain for Stockholm. “ For the Finnish file we have reached the point where it seems that a very large majority will support them, and we hope that the same will be the case for Sweden as soon as possible.“, said Thursday morning the director of cabinet of Mr. Orban, Gergely Gulyas. He judged that there was a “ good chance ” that this green light would take place before the end of the spring session in Parliament, which ends on June 15.

In addition to the impasse with Turkey, the Hungarian delay worries Sweden, because of the links between Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin. A senior parliamentary official from Fidesz, Mr. Orban’s party, had during a visit to Sweden in early March asked that Swedish politicians stop the ” lies ” about the breaches of the rule of law in Hungary, the subject of a long standoff with the European Union.

Le Figaro

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