Hungary´s Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced Thursday that his country´s parliament will ratify Finland and Sweden´s accession to NATO next year, noting that the two countries´ accession file is still pending, pending ratification by Budapest and Ankara.
"As we have already informed Sweden and Finland, Hungary supports the accession of these two countries to NATO. It will be on the agenda of the first (parliament) session next year," Orban said on the sidelines of a summit of the Visegrad Group in Slovakia.
The first session of the Hungarian Parliament is scheduled to take place in February next year.
And 28 NATO countries have already ratified Sweden and Finland´s access to the defense block.
By applying to join NATO, the two countries abandoned a policy of non-alignment that they had adopted for decades, after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
The accession of new members to the defense block requires the unanimity of member states.
Hungary´s ruling party has repeatedly refused to schedule a session in parliament to discuss the issue, although the government insists it supports the two countries joining NATO.
Earlier this month, Gergely Gulias, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister´s office, said that the country´s parliament had to pass anti-corruption reforms demanded by Brussels before discussing the issue of joining NATO.
Hungary is in talks with Brussels to unlock billions of euros in funding from an EU fund that is currently holding over corruption fears.
The Hungarian opposition has accused Orban´s party of stalling by refusing to include the issue on parliament´s agenda for a vote.
The Socialist Party described the matter as "incomprehensible and unjustified," while the Momentum party accused the government of "blackmailing" the European Union.
Next year Hungary will ratify Sweden and Finland´s accession to NATO
