Warsaw, Poland – Poland, along with Visegrad allies Czech Republic and Slovakia, will likely increase pressure on Hungary to ratify Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership as quickly as possible.
“In a few days, I am meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as part of the Visegrad Group format,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Sunday in Helsinki, where he was meeting with Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin.
V4 leaders will meet later this week in the Slovak city of Kosice, a summit the Czech Republic’s two top parliamentary leaders already said they would boycott in protest over Hungary’s stance on Ukraine and Russia. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala however confirmed he would attend.
In March, a planned summit between the defence Ministers of the Visegrad Group was cancelled at the last minute after the Czech and Polish representatives pulled out – also for refusing to sit at the same table as their Hungarian counterpart.
“I am sure that together with our friends from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, we will ask Viktor Orban to quickly ratify the documents for Sweden and Finland, because it is critical for the eastern flank of our region”, Morawiecki added over the week-end.
Breaking away from decades of strategic and military neutrality, the two Nordic countries formally asked to become NATO’s 31st and 32nd members in May in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland (in July), the Czech Republic (August) and Slovakia (September) have all ratified their accession protocols.
Hungary and Turkey remain the two only members not to have completed the ratification process.
Although the Hungarian government has several times signaled they would not block the two Nordic countries’ membership, its stalling has sparked concerns among Western partners – especially considering Budapest’s close ties with Russia.
The two relevant bills were submitted by the government in July, but the Parliament still hasn’t tabled the legislation for debate and final approval.
Just last week, Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas commented that Hungary’s parliament will discuss the ratification during its autumn session and will complete it before Turkey.
Kafkadesk 
Warsaw, Poland – Poland, along with Visegrad allies Czech Republic and Slovakia, will likely increase pressure on Hungary to ratify Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership as quickly as possible.
“In a few days, I am meeting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as part of the Visegrad Group format,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Sunday in Helsinki, where he was meeting with Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin.
V4 leaders will meet later this week in the Slovak city of Kosice, a summit the Czech Republic’s two top parliamentary leaders already said they would boycott in protest over Hungary’s stance on Ukraine and Russia. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala however confirmed he would attend.
In March, a planned summit between the defence Ministers of the Visegrad Group was cancelled at the last minute after the Czech and Polish representatives pulled out – also for refusing to sit at the same table as their Hungarian counterpart.
“I am sure that together with our friends from Slovakia and the Czech Republic, we will ask Viktor Orban to quickly ratify the documents for Sweden and Finland, because it is critical for the eastern flank of our region”, Morawiecki added over the week-end.
Breaking away from decades of strategic and military neutrality, the two Nordic countries formally asked to become NATO’s 31st and 32nd members in May in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland (in July), the Czech Republic (August) and Slovakia (September) have all ratified their accession protocols.
Hungary and Turkey remain the two only members not to have completed the ratification process.
Although the Hungarian government has several times signaled they would not block the two Nordic countries’ membership, its stalling has sparked concerns among Western partners – especially considering Budapest’s close ties with Russia.
The two relevant bills were submitted by the government in July, but the Parliament still hasn’t tabled the legislation for debate and final approval.
Just last week, Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas commented that Hungary’s parliament will discuss the ratification during its autumn session and will complete it before Turkey.