Biden cabinet disappointed: PM Orbán leads Hungary out from NATO by boycotting Sweden?
There was an extraordinary parliamentary session yesterday, on 5 February, in Hungary. However, the lawmakers could not ratify Sweden’s NATO accession because PM Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz and KDNP did not take part in the session, so it lacked a quorum. The USA is disappointed in Hungary, and Orbán’s moves raise concerns among NATO allies about whether Hungary can be trusted or is an ally of Putin.
The matter is important for Washington and other NATO allies. That was clearly shown by the fact that representatives of 16 NATO Allies attended the extraordinary session. US Ambassador David Pressman was among them, and said, leaving the chamber, that Sweden’s NATO membership directly affects the United States’ national security, Reuters wrote.
“This is about the security of Hungary, of the United States, and of the entire NATO Alliance. We look forward to Hungary’s urgent action”, Mr Pressman concluded his post.
Better ties with Russia than other EU and NATO members
“The Prime Minister pledged to convene parliament, to urge parliament to act at its earliest opportunity, today was an opportunity to do that,” Pressman added.
Reuters wrote that PM Orbán had better ties with Russia than other EU and NATO members. The relevant bill has been stranded in the parliament since mid-2022 despite government promises.
Orbán’s Fidesz said today that the Hungarian Parliament would only give the green light for Sweden if the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, visited Hungary. Just like he did in the case of Türkiye, another NATO member who boycotted the accession before.
Sweden has not commented on that claim. Before, they said the prime minister would only come to Budapest after the acceptance of Sweden’s NATO bid.
The Hungarian parliament will start its regular session in end-February. The Hungarian diplomacy has time until then to convince Stockholm about an official visit to Budapest. Otherwise, this will be the second visible loss for Orbán in foreign policy in just one month.
The other one was in Brussels last week when he accepted the EU’s EUR 50 billion aid for Ukraine without receiving anything in return. Hungary did not get more money from the frozen RRF and development funds, he did not get an annual veto concerning the payment process of that money. Meanwhile, Ukraine got everything they wanted.
Will Sweden rescue Orbán?
In the case of Sweden, even experts do not know why PM Orbán decided to veto the country’s NATO accession. Some believe that is how he wanted to support President Erdogan. If that is the truth, the Turkish leader may have set him up since they accepted Stockholm’s bid urgently in January and let Hungary alone with Budapest’s boycott.
As a result, many may think in Washington or Brussels that Hungary might be in an alliance with Russia. However, the Ukraine aid showed that Orbán does not want to use his veto in case he remains alone. That is why they could agree even before the start of the extraordinary Brussels session. And probably that is why the Hungarian parliament will vote for Sweden’s NATO accession. The one-million-dollar question is whether Sweden will choose to rescue Orbán’s dignity by ‘sending’ their prime minister to Budapest before the end-February parliament session. If not, it might happen that Orbán will have to accept a phone call and the possibility of a future meeting.
Evidently, the Hungarian government-close media will sell every scenario as a victory.
Read also:
- Russians outraged: ‘PM Orbán betrayed us!’ – Read more HERE
- If Sweden wants to join the NATO, their prime minister will have to travel to Budapest – Details in THIS article
Featured image: illustration
What an absolutely depressing article. Anyone who has been following my posts can see that I have posed this question time and time again. Who is Orban allied to? Why does he continue to act to undermine European and Hungarian security by obstructing NATO at a time when we face the biggest threat from Russian aggression in our life times? This is the first time I have ever seen the idea posed of Hungary actually choosing to leave NATO. That would be a form of national suicide. This is Fidesz? Have Hungarians lost their minds!
Larry, do you really think that Russia is a threat to the EU? And do you really think that the EU countries will be able to defend themselves without the U.S. assistance, if any aggression from the East becomes true? Because we all know that the whole military NATO machine is based on the U.S. military.
Mat Russia has undisguised goals of reacquiring the territory it lost with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and that specifically means the Baltics. The US military is an indispensable part of NATO. There are nuclear weapons in Germany which are stored under US lock and key. The single biggest problem with NATO and the EU is the lack of cohesion as a single unit. For example NATO members have all jealously guarded arms production individually as a local source of economic production and jobs. The result of this has become immediately apparent in Ukraine as donations of arms lack interoperability. There are guns made for use with specific shells and another country provides shells that don’t fit in the guns provided by the other country. Procurement is slow with lack of long-term contracts provided to arms manufacturers so they do not have incentive to invest in building production capacity. You can’t turn on a tap and suddenly produce 100 tanks per month like Russia is presently doing. What has been happening is stockpiles are being used up and production is replacing only a fraction. Russia is on a long-term war footing so it is ahead of the West in that regard. Remember this: Putin is relying on continuous war to drum up support for himself and have justification for repression of any dissent. This has been going on since Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine 2014 and now Ukraine 2022 and it will be Lithuania 202?. They will go straight for the Suwaki Gap and link up with Kaliningrad. The Poles are working like crazy to build up their military as quickly as possible. EVERY single NATO member that shares a border with Russia or Belarus understands the threat and expresses clear alarm about it. Hungary has sold out to Putin and is stabbing everyone else in the back.
First of all I have plenty of doubts regarding the fact that Russia really needs and is thinking of obtaining the territories that it lost with the dissolution of the USSR. The questions is: what for? Those territories have no interest at all in terms of their value. Literally none. What could be the benefits for Russia if it acquires those territories?
Your examples with Chechnya or Georgia are quite non-relevant, at least due to the fact that Chechnya is a part of Russia, and used to be its part as well. Georgia – the fact who started first is well-known. It was president Saakashvili.
Ukraine 2022 is a different case. There are no argues.
Although from my perspective the only thing that may prevent any aggressions is the nuclear weapon. That is the reason why Russia and the U.S. won’t get into a direct conflict. And to my mind that is the only guarantee.
And a kind of a rhetorical question: why then the West allowed all Eastern European countries to join NATO if the West had those types of threats that single NATO member shares the border with Russia is in threat? It would have been better to have a kind of a neutral cordon between Russia and NATO, don’t you think so?
Below are relevant articles on the very real Russian threat to the Baltics including Putin’s statements like “All the former USSR is Russia.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/22/putin-speech-russia-empire-threat-ukraine-moscow
https://cepa.org/article/code-red-how-russia-conquers-the-baltics/
https://euromaidanpress.com/2015/04/28/putin-gives-the-world-his-geography-lesson-all-the-former-ussr-is-russia/
From The Centre For European Policy Analysis “Containing Russia, Securing Europe” Jan 31, 2024:
US and broader Western interests are clear. If left unchecked, Russia will continue to manufacture forever wars on the European continent, threatening NATO allies with military and non-conventional violence. The Kremlin’s playbook is, by now, well known: it includes weaponizing energy, disrupting commodity and financial markets, and sowing internal and international discord to keep democracies off-kilter and create a blueprint for for other malign actors to follow. Moscow’s strategic objectives are also clear: to destroy the U.S.-led system of international rules and norms, and it will not be appeased by abdication of territories in Ukraine or elsewhere so long as Western institutions still find global appeal. A strategy of renewed containment thus represents a return to an interest-driven policy towards Russia.
Russia’s regime has consistently pursued — and can reliably be expected to continue to pursue for the foreseeable future — three overarching geostrategic ambitions:
Exercising military, political, and economic dominance in the post-Soviet space, circumscribing the sovereignty of its neighbors, limiting their ability to pursue autonomous domestic and foreign policies, and claiming an unlimited right of military intervention.
Undermining global order, disrupting Western political consensus, fracturing global political and economic institutions, reducing the ability of the US and Europe to maintain stability, and rolling back the progress of the European project.
Maintaining domestic power by using geopolitical conflict to mobilize regime supporters and repress opponents, and fusing the state, society, and economy into a unified tool of war.
@Larry
It’s not “Hungarians” that lost their minds, it’s all Orbán (and his bootlickers and cronies who care more about their own status and wealth than the country). Orbán cares about NOTHING other than staying in power. NOTHING. Look at what he’s doing to public education, public healthcare, social welfare, etc. He’s withdrawing money from everything, while spending it on projects that will be added to his strawman’s empire of companies and/or help solidify his own power. (Like buying the Ferihegy Airport, or buying Vodafone, etc… all the while whining about having no money for fair wages for teachers and whatnot, because of the evil “Brussels”.)
Most everyday Hungarians genuinely don’t care about current affairs. During the Kádár regime generations and generations were groomed to understand that if they keep their heads down and don’t even try to interfere with the regime they’ll be allowed to live a relatively (compared to the rest of the Eastern Bloc) decent life. They were taught not to have solidarity for one another or stand up for even their own rights. They were thought not to care about “politics” because that’s “not our business”, and this attitude is being carried over now, in a regime much the same as Kádár’s, except with fascists this time, and with a much stronger and more successful propaganda. Most everyday Hungarians barely care about watching the news, and when they do they don’t really care to evaluate their sources and mostly just take what they hear or read at face value. And considering that 99% of media in Hungary now belong to Orbán’s empire…
Most Hungarians barely even understand what NATO is and why we’re members.
(Among those Hungarians who do care, apathy is getting more and more widespread partly because of the aforementioned lack of care and solidarity in the society, and partly because by now everyone understands that the establishment opposition are basically a bunch of idiots who don’t seem to understand that they’re not living in a democracy.)
President Trump had no problem with the Christian Conservative Hungarian government. While the US had a Republican President, friendship between the US and Hungary flourished. Socialists, with their bad policies cannot tolerate countries that do not say Amen to all bad socialist policies.
The hate Hungary campaign started in 2015 when Hungary closed its border to the uneducated horde that invaded the country. The child protection law also is against the pagan Marxist views. Hungary’s insurance of energy supply for the from Russia was another nail in the coffin. The final straw was Hungary’s anti Ukraine/Russian war.
Reviewing the policies that irritate the socialist Godless countries, it is evident that Hungary is the only country that is pursuing the correct policies. The EU, US and UK should institute the same policies as Hungary to improve the lives of their citizens.
As far as Orban’s allegiance goes, I am reminded of the old Hungarian saying, You can’t ride two horses with one ass.
Sweden should just cancel the ongoing Gripen contracts with Hungary for their stubbornness. They are dealing with fire.
Let´s hope the Politicians (and apparently @mariavontheresa´s) wet dream of another Trump presidency does not materialize.
He is unapologetically isolationist. “America First” – notwithstanding some politically expedient blurbs about Mr. Orbán. No qualms about quitting international organizations, treaties, relationships.
Even the military (hardly the “woke mob”) and hawks such as the Cheney family are warning everyone they can, either vocally or through their actions:
https://www.justsecurity.org/67884/trump-loved-his-generals-until-he-got-to-know-them/
Another hawk who is now even going to liberal outlets to give stark warnings is “hawk” Mr. Bolton – skip to 02:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nb_2X3cSYg
Re NATO – it is a strong deterrent which has served Europe well – and then they even admitted countries from behind the Iron Curtain to expand that security blanket. Gratitude, and long may the Alliance continue!
And again, tsk, tsk… much said but it matters not. Viktor will take care of us along with his friends. He alone knows what is good and right for Hungary.
@Demjen … Experience appears to indicate Mr. Orbán primarily takes care of himself and his own. Family, party, toadies … The Hungarian people are simply a means to an end.
Fact: NATO can do without Hungary. The EU can do without Hungary. Unfortunately, Hungary cannot do without NATO or the EU.
Today, Jake Sullivan a US National Security Advisor threatened Hungary. The US spend more time threatening Hungary than complaining against Russia for the Russian/Ukrainian war. It seems that the US cannot defeat Russia, China, N. Korea or Iran, the US has to threaten a nation with population less than 10 million. Really, the US is a bully and is scared of countries that have nuclear weapons.
It may be time for Hungary to buy nuclear weapons to keep the US from invading the country.
@mariavontheresa – Sullivan said that he and his colleagues had impressed upon Hungary that “it’s a matter of credibility and obligation that they take the necessary steps” to complete the parliamentary procedures to ratify Sweden’s accession.
This is not a threat, it is calling out an ally. Which you should hope your allies would do. And that actions (including inaction) may have consequences. Unanimity of the Members for international organizations, after due debate, is very important. Read; EU, NATO, etc. And our Politicians really do not have much of an argument here, from a factual or international policy perspective.
https://apnews.com/article/nato-hungary-sweden-membership-jake-sullivan-us-24f0be92803fdf90c7fc6864fd8b51a9
I would be more worried about what Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov say to our Politicians, behind closed doors.
The unanimity law was part of the requirements on passing bills for a reason. It allows for different opinions. Supporting warring nations, either side, is wrong. The goal of EU nations, US and UK should be to establish peace.
PM Orban is right, what has the war achieved in Ukraine other than death and destruction. What has the war achieved in Russia, death, high inflation in Russia and destruction of the territory of ethnic Russians.
It is time to establish peace. Sullivan’s remarks were threatening. The Biden Government is a bully. The EU is a bully forever taking the Hungarian nation to EU courts.
The interesting fact is the nations make rules and when they are used to its fullest, the rule makers cry foul.