188 parliamentarians out of 198 present voted yes. The vote was announced by the ruling party Fidesz's group leader, Máté Kocsis, in a Facebook post on 21 February.
In the parliamentary gallery sat, among others, Sweden's ambassador Diana Madunic together with Scandinavian colleagues and the Polish ambassador Kęciek Sebastian. On X, he writes that today's vote is a historic moment.
– A historic day. All NATO countries' parliaments have now voted for Sweden's NATO membership. We are ready to shoulder our part of the responsibility for NATO's security, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on X (formerly Twitter).
From the Hungarian side, it remains for the Speaker to sign the decision before the Hungarian president can ratify it. Thereafter, the documents are flown to Washington DC to be deposited with the US Department of State. After the deposition, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg can formally invite Sweden to become members of the defence alliance.
Jens Stoltenberg writes on X (formerly Twitter) that he welcomes the Hungarian parliament's decision and that Sweden's membership will make us all stronger and safer.
The parliament's approval has been positively received by heads of state and government around Europe.
Among others, Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Denmark's Prime Minister, Mette Fredriksen, Finland's Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, Finland's President, Sauli Niinistö, the Netherlands' Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, Norway's Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, Estonia's Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, Estonia's President, Alar Karis, Belgium's Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, Lithuania's President, Gitanas Nausėda, Lithuania's Prime Minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, Latvia's President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Latvia's Prime Minister, Evika Siliņa, Romania's President, Klaus Iohannis, Germany's Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have welcomed the result of the vote.
Across the Atlantic, senators Michael Bennet and Chris van Hollen have welcomed the decision. Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, also did so. On his website, the Majority Leader writes in a statement...