Sweden and Finland have had the ambition to join NATO “hand in hand”. But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) announced that the probability increased that Finland will become a full member before Sweden.
Turkey is not prepared to approve the Swedish application yet. And now the risk is that Ungen will do the same, according to Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, lecturer in European studies at Lund University.
– I can imagine that it is a possibility. Turkey has opened up to that option. Then Hungary shows its good will towards the partnership with NATO while continuing to negotiate with the EU to gain access to the cohesion policy, she says.
The planned vote in Hungary’s parliament on Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO applications has been postponed a number of times lately. As late as Tuesday, the Hungarian newspaper reported HGV that the government postponed the parliamentary vote again with the justification that “ongoing negotiations with the European Commission have not been concluded”.
“The NATO and EU issue lumped together”
Last year, the EU chose to freeze grant money to Hungary because it did not meet the requirements to restore an independent judiciary set by the EU. Now Hungary is using the NATO negotiations as a way to blackmail the EU to get greater access to the grant money, according to Anamaria Dutceac Segesten.
She believes that Hungary may want to continue the negotiations with the EU for a while longer in order to take advantage of the Swedish EU presidency, which lasts until June 30.
– For Hungary, the NATO issue and the EU issue are lumped together, those issues are treated as one, Anamaria Dutceac Segesten.
Hear Anamaria Dutceac Segesten about how Hungary can conceivably act on the NATO issue going forward in the clip above.
