Sweden To Finally Join NATO As Hungary Relents On Blockade

Written by Ethan Tsai, Edited by Olivia Lu

Stockholm — Feb. 26 — After an 18-month delay, fueled by both Türkiye and Hungary’s reluctance to approve Sweden over the sheltering Kurdish militants and criticism of the government respectively. Türkiye eventually agreed to the addition of Sweden after an eight-month delay, but Hungary had remained obstinate — until now.

Credit: CNBC

Hungary has held close ties with Russia, even throughout the Russo-Ukrainian War, under what some say is the authoritarian government of Viktor Orban. Stockholm has previously criticized the Orban administration for its actions relating to human rights, which Hungary used as justification for denying Sweden entry into the NATO alliance. Although all other nations within the coalition encouraged Sweden to join, the requirement of unanimous agreement for accepting a new nation meant Hungary was able to singlehandedly stall the process.

However, with the acceptance of Sweden into NATO, the alliance has overcome a massive obstacle in its growth. Contrary to Putin’s hopes of deterring NATO expansion, the War in Ukraine has effectively made NATO much stronger than it otherwise might have been, as both nations (whose population has historically favored a stiff neutral stance) made a sudden turn towards joining NATO, shocked into action by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The inclusion of Finland and Sweden has an immense strategic impact on Russia’s ability to exert power, as the Baltic and North Seas are now nearly impossible for Russia to navigate without being detected by a NATO country, eliminating one of the few unmonitored paths Russia has to the rest of the world. Additionally, Finland shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia, which poses a serious threat in the case of war.

We will likely see Sweden join in the next few weeks, as the Hungarian parliament will ratify the agreement within the next few days. Once concluded, the due processes for initiating Sweden will likely be completed swiftly, given NATO’s eagerness to bring Sweden into the fold.