Hungary’s governing party says it’s ready to approve Sweden’s NATO accession on Monday

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A vote in Hungary’s parliament on ratifying Sweden’s bid to join NATO could come as early as Monday. That’s according to a senior member of the country’s governing Fidesz party. It would bring an end to more than 18 months of delays by the nationalist government that have frustrated Hungary’s allies. Hungary is the only one of NATO’s 31 existing members not to have ratified Sweden’s bid. The Hungarian government faces mounting pressure to act after delaying the move for more than 1 1/2-year since admitting a new country to the military alliance requires unanimous approval. On Sunday, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators visited Hungary and announced they would submit a joint resolution to Congress condemning alleged democratic backsliding in the country.