Sweden’s final obstacle to joining NATO removed

Sweden’s final obstacle to joining NATO has been removed.

Hungary, the last of the 31 Western coalition NATO members, approved Sweden’s membership after months of delay by the ruling Fidesz party, so that Stockholm no longer faces any obstacles to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Hungarian parliament agreed on Tuesday with a majority of votes to Sweden’s membership in NATO.

Earlier, one of the senior members of the ruling party had said that the vote in the Hungarian parliament on approving Sweden’s NATO membership would take place on Tuesday, ending over 18 months of delay in Budapest on this matter and disappointment for its Western allies.

The Hungarian government, after delaying the approval of Sweden’s membership and obstructing key decisions of the European Union, including creating obstacles for financial aid to Ukraine, had faced increasing pressure from its allies.