“I’m going to ask why they’re separating Sweden from Finland now.” These are signals that we have not received before, so I will certainly discuss this with (Viktor) Orban today,” Kristersson told Swedish Public Radio.
V. Orban and U. Kristersson will participate in the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday.
After Russia attacked Ukraine, Helsinki and Stockholm abandoned their decades-long policy of military non-alignment and decided to join NATO last May. Their applications must be ratified by all 30 members of the Alliance, with only Turkey and Hungary yet to do so.
Orban’s ruling Fidesz party said parliament would approve Finland’s request on March 27 and “will decide on Sweden later”.
Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, told reporters on Thursday that there is a “serious possibility” that Sweden’s application will be approved during the parliamentary session, which runs until June 15.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also asked parliament to approve Finland’s NATO membership, but is holding back on Sweden’s membership.
