Hungary Finally Ratifies Sweden's NATO Membership — Last Holdout Steps Aside

On February 26, 2024, Hungary's parliament voted 188-6 to ratify Sweden's NATO accession, nearly two years after Sweden had applied following Russia's Ukraine invasion. Hungary had been the final NATO member to ratify, after Turkey had agreed in December 2023. Budapest had demanded commitments on defense cooperation and F-16 jet deliveries before agreeing. Sweden became NATO's 32nd member state on March 7, 2024. The delay had been widely seen as Orbán extracting bilateral concessions while shielding Russia from NATO expansion.