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Hungary ‘on course’ to ratify Sweden NATO bid this month: PM Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday that his country was "on course" to ratify Sweden's NATO accession bid this month as Budapest remains the last holdout.

Published: 18 February 2024 09:29 CET

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban pictured at a press conference in Vienna, Austria

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban pictured at a press conference in Vienna, Austria, July 28, 2022. Orban said Saturday Hungary was "on course" to ratify Sweden's NATO accession bid this month (Photo by Alex HALADA / AFP)

“The good news is that our current dispute with Sweden is moving towards a conclusion,” Orban said in his state-of-the-nation address.

“Together with the Swedish PM, we have taken important steps in order to rebuild trust,” he said, without giving further details.

“We are on course to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO at the beginning of parliament’s spring session,” he added.

Parliament is scheduled to reconvene on February 26.

On Wednesday, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said his country hoped that Hungary will soon ratify its accession to NATO, removing the last obstacle to its membership.

READ ALSO: Inside Sweden: When exactly will Sweden join Nato?

Billstrom reiterated there would be no negotiations on the ratification despite Orban inviting his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to “negotiate” Sweden’s accession.

“There is nothing to negotiate, if there is a visit, it’s not going to be a negotiation, that has been made very clear by my prime minister,” the Swedish minister said earlier this week.

Although it supports Stockholm in principle, Budapest prolonged the process by asking Sweden to stop “vilifying” the Hungarian government, which is accused of taking an authoritarian turn.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden announced its application to join NATO in May 2022, at the same time as Finland.

Finland became the organisation’s 31st member in April 2023 after all NATO members ratified its bid.

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EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Sweden's new military spending report

What is the Swedish Defence Commision?

The Swedish Defence Commission is a cross-party forum which seeks to ensure broad political agreement around Sweden’s defence requirements. It brings together representatives of all eight parties in the Swedish parliament, with two each from the Moderates, Sweden Democrats and Social Democrats and one each for the other parties.

There are also advisers and experts from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. Members of the committee are supported by a secretariat comprising one principal secretary and five secretaries.

What is the report they have delivered?

The committee on Friday delivered its final, report, “Strengthened defence capability, Sweden as an Ally“, meeting the deadline given by the country’s defence minister Pål Jonson when he ordered the committee to develop proposals for a new defence bill in December 2022, with a total of four reports, the first three of which were delivered in April 2023, June 2023, December 2023.

What have they recommended?

The committee have recommended that Sweden’s budget is increased from 119 billion kronor a year in 2024 to 185 billion kronor in 2030, which would bring total spending to 2.6 percent of Sweden’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The committee said it agreed with the recommendations given by Micael Byden, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces in November 2023, which were that Sweden should increase or improve:

air defence and in particular its cooperation within NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD)
its ability to combat air, land and sea drones
its integration with NATO’s command system
its logistics, so that it can provide Host Nation Support and serve as a base for other units from other Nato countries.
its capacity to operate with military units outside Sweden’s borders

But the committee also made additional recommendations beyong those given by the armed forces, calling for:

two new army brigades, so that Sweden would have three mechanised brigades and one infantry brigade by 2030
a new Norrland Infantry Regiment,
an increase in the number of conscripts trained a year from the current level of 8,000 to 10,000 in 2030 and 12,000 in 2032, and possibly to 14,000 in 2035
a boost in Sweden’s air defence capability, particularly to counter drone attacks
stocking up on additional ammunition, including air-to-air and cruise missiles, and spare parts
20 new companies and platoons dedicated to defending Sweden’s territories
increased refresher courses for conscripts, extra funding of voluntary defence organisations, and expansion of the officer education programme

How will the cost of funding this military expansion be met?

While they were agreed on what needed to be done, party representatives on the committee did not agree on how much needed to be spent or how ti should be financed.

The Centre Party representative said that spending should be higher, comprising 3 percent of GDP.

The representatives from the Social Democrats, Left Party, and Green Party, added a statement to the report when they called for a section on how the extra spending should be financed.

Peter Hultqvist, who served as defence minister under the former Social Democrat government, called for a new beredskapsskatt, or “Readiness Tax” to fund the increase, saying it was disappointing that the committee had not been able to agree on financing.

“This demand is so big that it risks pushing other pressing requirements out of government spending plans,” he said. “There is a risk that healthcare, education and elderly care will be hit.”

But Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister, rejected the idea of a new tax.

“It’s no secret that the parties on the left always see reasons to raise taxes, and that’s the case this time as well, I assume. But that is not our way forward,” he said. “We must be able to prioritise Swedish defense, and I understand that there is now complete agreement that it is an important political task.”

Anna Starbrink, a defence spokesperson for the Liberals, the smallest party in the government, said that the Swedish Defence Commission had not in the past been tasked with developing funding proposals.

“This is a new idea from the opposition and from the Social Democrats’ side is about nothing more than forcing through a new tax hike through the defence commission, and that’s something the rest of us don’t want to go along with,” she said.

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