Hungary’s top diplomat accused Finland and Sweden of “spreading lies” about the erosion of democracy and said lawmakers in Budapest were justified in delaying approval of the Nordic nations’ NATO membership.
(Bloomberg) — Hungary’s top diplomat accused Finland and Sweden of “spreading lies” about the erosion of democracy and said lawmakers in Budapest were justified in delaying approval of the Nordic nations’ NATO membership.
Following a meeting with his Swedish counterpart in Stockholm, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto gave the clearest explanation yet on why Hungary is dragging its feet on giving a green light to Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. Turkey has also yet to agree.
“How can they expect a quick and fair decision when all we hear about is how in Hungary there’s no democracy, rule of law, media freedom and judicial independence, which are all lies,” Szijjarto said in a Facebook video on Monday.
The two countries have backed efforts by the European Union to reverse measures by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the bloc’s leaders say violate its democratic values and flout the rule of law. The EU has suspended more than $30 billion in funding to pressure the government in Budapest to change course on issues including an overhaul of the judicial system and a crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
Orban argued last year that the reason for the delay in the vote was that parliament was too busy passing EU-related bills to unlock the funds — despite the approval of other non-EU related legislation.
Szijjarto sought to distinguish between the stance of Orban’s administration and his ruling party lawmakers, saying the cabinet backed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s plan to expand, and it’s the parliamentarians who needed to be convinced.
In reality, Orban is the chairman of his Fidesz party and vets each of the party’s candidates ahead of legislative elections, who are then expected to toe the party line on legislative votes.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom has agreed to help set up a meeting between Hungarian ruling party lawmakers and their Swedish counterparts to resolve differences, Szijjarto said.
Hungary’s legislature is scheduled to start debating NATO enlargement on Wednesday, with a vote likely in the second half of March, Cabinet Minister Gergely Gulyas told reporters over the weekend.
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