The Atlantic Alliance is expanding. On 26 February, the Hungarian Parliament approved Sweden‘s NATO membership by an overwhelming majority – 188 votes in favour and six against. Hungary was the last country required to validate the application initiated in May 2022, in the wake of Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.
Gaining a place in the organisation was no simple task. Although Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had already given his agreement in principle, he nevertheless seized every opportunity to delay the process, much to the despair of his allies.
Joining the Alliance would have been unthinkable for a large portion of the Swedish public a few years ago, but it is now a done deal: Sweden thus puts an end to more than two centuries of neutrality. It joins Finland, which became NATO’s 31st member country on 4 April 2023.
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