Hungary remains alone in holding up Stockholm’s accession despite PM’s promises not to be last to ratify

Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has boycotted a session of parliament called by the opposition to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership, even as a group of western ambassadors arrived in the building to urge a vote.

For months, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, repeatedly promised his counterparts within Nato that the country would not be last to sign off on Sweden’s membership.

But Orbán reneged on the pledge when Turkey ratified the Swedish bid last month, leaving Hungary alone holding up Stockholm’s accession.

The Hungarian leader then publicly promised Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, that he would urge parliament to “conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity” – only to also abandon that pledge by not showing up to a session initiated by the country’s opposition with the aim of voting on Sweden’s accession.

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      • IgnatiusJReilly@lemmy.wtfEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        How could you type that?! The internet is such a family friendly place.

        Now, back to work, no more swearing or fucking around.

      • zingo@lemmy.caEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        Well, I would be, at least a little.

        A tiny bit. Almost non existing.

        ;)

  • maynarkh@feddit.nlEnglish
    21·
    9 months ago

    Just a bit of context, Hungarian MPs of the current government have boycotted every move of the opposition in the past 14 years.

    They didn’t show up to any of the sessions, they didn’t put any initiatives or laws on the agenda. Not one.

    I would have been more surprised if they actually did show up. That would have been unprecedented.

  • Deebster@programming.devEnglish
    8·
    9 months ago

    So Hungary hasn’t ratified Sweden’s membership, but what does this actually mean? I know that signing a treaty means you agree to the terms and intend to sign, but that it’s not yet legally binding. And then ratifying means you’ve dealt with your own country’s process to get a new law (or whatever) in place.

    But Hungary reneging on this means that the other countries cannot complete the process? Or that they all consider Sweden in but Hungary still doesn’t?

    • zombyreagan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      18·
      9 months ago

      Sweden is not officially in untill all member states ratify their ascention. So currently Sweden is not in

      • Deebster@programming.devEnglish
        4·
        9 months ago

        Thanks, that’s what I assumed. So the ratification terms must have to include what seems to be called a “quorum” clause:

        lawmakers from the ruling Fidesz party boycotted the session, meaning it lacked quorum and the ratification will be further delayed.

        – Reuters

        • zombyreagan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          7·
          9 months ago

          It’s not so much that the nato treaty required quorum, it’s that any/most legislatures require a certain amount of members present in able to hold a vote. Imagine if you only needed one guy to show up to be able to hold a vote, there could be a lot of shenanigans

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party has boycotted a session of parliament called by the opposition to ratify Sweden’s Nato membership, even as a group of western ambassadors arrived in the building to urge a vote.

    For months, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, repeatedly promised his counterparts within Nato that the country would not be last to sign off on Sweden’s membership.

    The Hungarian leader then publicly promised Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, that he would urge parliament to “conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity” – only to also abandon that pledge by not showing up to a session initiated by the country’s opposition with the aim of voting on Sweden’s accession.

    In a symbolic move, a group of 16 diplomatic representatives, including the American ambassador in Budapest, David Pressman, arrived at Hungary’s parliament on Monday.

    “With our presence today, we wanted to show our solidarity with Sweden, and the Swedish ambassador in Budapest, in their pursuit of joining Nato in such a difficult and demanding time for the world.

    “We know that Orbán considers these situations as opportunities for blackmail, but completely ignoring a parliamentary session, our allies’ requests and the security interests of Hungary is disgraceful,” said Márton Tompos, a member of the Hungarian parliament and spokesperson for the opposition Momentum party.

    The original article contains 603 words, the summary contains 215 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • febra@lemmy.worldEnglish
    71·
    9 months ago

    He didn’t boycott anything. He was just too busy sucking Putin off at the time