Hungary refuses to back Dutch PM for NATO chief

Hungary refuses to back Dutch PM for NATO chief
by AFP Staff Writers
Budapest (AFP) March 5, 2024

Hungary's foreign minister on Tuesday said the country would not support Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to become the next NATO secretary general.

Rutte is largely believed to be the frontrunner to lead the alliance and replace current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, after the United States, Britain and Germany expressed support for his potential candidacy.

Hungary, however, would not support Rutte, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters when asked, saying Budapest's backing would be "bizarre".

"We definitely cannot support the election of a person to the position of NATO secretary general who previously wanted to force Hungary to its knees," he said.

In 2021, Rutte said Hungary should not be part of the EU after the central European country passed a law banning the promotion of LGBTQ content to minors.

For the past two years, the NATO alliance has navigated a challenging security enviroment in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A successor for Stoltenberg -- the former Norwegian prime minister who has overseen NATO for a decade -- is expected to be announced before a July summit in Washington.

No decision is confirmed until consensus is reached on one candidate, according to NATO rules.

Rutte, 57, is currently serving as prime minister in a transitional capacity after the party of far-right leader Geert Wilders won the most seats in the Netherland's general election last November, but has yet been able to form a government.

Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed "winds of change" after Wilders' win.

Orban's government last month became the last to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO, ending more than a year of delays that frustrated other alliance members.

Hungary is also the only EU member state that has maintained close ties with the Kremlin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Hungarian president signs Sweden's bid to join NATO
Budapest (AFP) March 5, 2024 - Hungary's president on Tuesday signed the law on Sweden's bid to join NATO, a final technical step before the Nordic country becomes the alliance's 32rd member.

Hungary's parliament ratified Sweden's bid on February 26, ending more than a year of delays that frustrated other alliance members in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Tamas Sulyok, the president of the republic, today signed the decision taken by the National Assembly on February 26, 2024, regarding Sweden's membership in NATO," a statement on the presidential website read.

Sweden, which has been militarily neutral for two centuries, will then be invited to accede to the Washington Treaty and officially become NATO's 32nd member.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago prompted Sweden and neighbouring Finland to apply to join the trans-Atlantic bloc, ending their longstanding stance of non-alignment.

Every NATO member has to approve a new country's membership.

Finland joined in April last year, but Sweden's bid was stalled by both Hungary and Turkey, with Ankara approving Stockholm's candidacy only in January.

Though repeatedly saying it supported Swedish membership in principle, Hungary kept prolonging the process, asking Stockholm to stop "vilifying" the Hungarian government.

After a meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson in Budapest, the Hungarian leader announced that the two had clarified "our mutual good intentions".

Hungary also signed a deal to acquire four Swedish-made fighter jets, expanding its fleet of 14 Jas 39 Gripen fighters.