Budapest, the capital of Hungary, was abuzz with excitement as a bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators made an official visit on Sunday. The purpose of their visit was to urge the nationalist government of Hungary to immediately approve Sweden’s request to join NATO. This move has been long overdue as Hungary is the only one of NATO’s 31 existing members that has not yet ratified Sweden’s bid.
The pressure on the Hungarian government to act has been mounting for over 18 months now, as the unanimous approval of all member countries is required for the admission of a new country into the military alliance. The visiting senators announced that they would be submitting a joint resolution to Congress, condemning the alleged democratic backsliding in Hungary and calling on the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to lift its block on Sweden’s trans-Atlantic integration.
During a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, stated, “With accession, Hungary and your prime minister will be doing a great service to freedom-loving nations worldwide.” He was joined by Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, who were also part of the delegation to Budapest.
Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on Hungary for its conduct and called Orbán “the least reliable member of NATO.” The resolution, which was first reported by The Associated Press, was authored by Senator Tillis and Senator Shaheen.
In the resolution, obtained by the AP, the senators acknowledged “the important role Hungary can have in European and trans-Atlantic security,” but also pointed out the country’s failure to fulfill earlier promises of not being the last NATO ally to sign off on Sweden’s membership. The resolution states, “Hungary has not joined all other NATO member states in approving the accession of Sweden to NATO, failing to fulfill a commitment not to be last to approve such accession and jeopardizing trans-Atlantic security at a key moment for peace and stability in Europe.”
Prime Minister Orbán, a staunch nationalist who has been leading Hungary since 2010, has expressed his support for making Sweden part of NATO. However, lawmakers in his party remain unconvinced due to what he refers to as “blatant lies” from Swedish politicians about the state of Hungary’s democracy. In his state of the nation speech on Saturday, Orbán hinted that Hungary’s legislature might soon relent, saying, “It’s good news that our dispute with Sweden is nearing a conclusion. We are moving toward ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO at the beginning of the spring session of Parliament.”
Senator Shaheen expressed disappointment that no members of the Hungarian government had accepted invitations to meet the delegation, but she remained hopeful and optimistic that Sweden’s accession would be submitted for ratification on February 26 when Hungarian lawmakers reconvene. Senator Murphy called the government’s refusal to meet the delegation “strange and concerning,” but stated that the onus was on Prime Minister Orbán to push forward a vote. “We are wise enough about politics here to know that if Prime Minister Orbán wants this to happen, then the parliament can move forward,” he said.
The senators’ resolution also criticizes Orbán’s increasingly warm relations with Russia and China and notes that while Hungary has opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Moscow’s invasion, it has also “resisted and diluted European Union sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation.” Orbán, who is widely considered to be the Kremlin’s closest EU ally, has faced criticism for flouting the bloc’s standards on democracy and the rule of law. The EU has withheld billions in funding from Budapest over alleged breaches of its rules.
In addition, Hungary’s government has adopted an increasingly adversarial stance towards the administration of President Joe Biden, accusing the U.S. of attempting to influence Hungarian public life. However, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, stated on Friday that he welcomed the senators’ visit and that it was “not worth trying to exert pressure on us because we are a sovereign country.” He added, “We are glad they are coming here because they can see for themselves that everything they read about Hungary in the liberal American media is a blatant lie.”
The visit of the bipartisan delegation of U.S. senators to Budapest is a clear indication of
