Although Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen was acquitted by a court of second instance, the legal battle, unfortunately, may not be fully won. As Räsänen wrote in a press release, she hopes ‘the prosecutor will be satisfied with the decision, but if not, I am ready to defend freedom of expression and religion also before the Supreme Court of Finland, and if necessary, even before the European Court of Human Rights.’ It soon turned out that the prosecutor is considering turning to the Supreme Court.
The former Minister of the Interior publicly shared Bible verses, calling into question her church deciding to to endorse a gay pride parade. For this, she was charged with ‘agitation against a minority group’. Despite having been acquitted in March 2022, the zealous prosecution appealed and now she will be back on trial at the end of the month.
‘By compromising its freedoms of speech and expression as a means by which to satisfy its international partners, Sweden and Denmark are revealing themselves to be far more ruthlessly utilitarian, and far less naïvely socialistic, than most observers might think.’
At first glance, the declaration of wanting to see Ukraine in NATO does not seem much more than what the country was already told in 2008. But the truth is that Ukraine is closer than ever to joining the Alliance, which was indicated not only by the unanimous adoption of the closing communiqué, picturing Ukraine’s future within NATO, but also by the fact that Ukraine can skip the preliminary Membership Action Plan (MAP) that every other post-Soviet country had to undergo and negotiate defence issues as an equal partner in the established NATO Ukraine Council.
Németh stated that the question of Swedish accession is currently before the Hungarian parliament for a final vote, and he believes that the Turkish parliament will follow suit in the coming months, aligning with the Hungarian position.
Erdoğan spoke about the issue of Sweden’s NATO membership during a press conference held at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport before travelling to the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. He stated that Turkey would approve Sweden’s NATO membership if the European Union resumes accession negotiations with his country.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated at a press conference on Tuesday that Hungary will keep its promise of not holding up Sweden’s joining of NATO, thus it is ready to back it once Turkey is. However, a recent incident of Quran burning in Stockholm may set the process back for some time again.
Senator James E. Risch of Idaho cited his frustration over Hungary not moving forward with approving Sweden’s NATO accession as his reason to block the $735 million arms deal. However, in the meantime, Hungary has signed a letter of intent for air force equipment acquisition with France.
The minister held talks with ministers and was part of an energy conference panel discussion, where he emphasised the importance of renewable energy, electric vehicles and nuclear power.
Budapest energy prices were the lowest among capitals that are part of the European Union. As far as Europe is concerned, prices were the lowest in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Since no party has won an absolute majority, a coalition government is expected, which is common in the country. However, it is not yet clear what kind of alliance will be established, although it seems likely that the two major right-wing parties will form a coalition government.
With Finland’s accession, NATO will become stronger, and as Finland becomes a safer place through membership, Sweden’s security environment will also improve and bring the country closer to full integration.
According to recent polls, the Finns Party is predicted to win the most seats in the upcoming election, potentially leading to the formation of a nationalist right-wing government for the first time in Finland.
Máté Kocsis wrote on Facebook: ‘Hungary is a committed member of NATO and the European Union, so we will do everything in our power to promote and maintain peace, and the Finnish people can count on us in this regard. We Hungarians have a special historical friendship with Finland, our allies.’
‘We are waiting for Swedish government officials to reassure members of the Hungarian parliament; our goal is to support Sweden’s NATO accession with the largest possible parliamentary majority, similarly to Finland’s,’ the political director of the prime minister said.
In a Facebook post on Friday afternoon, Fidesz’s parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis said his party is backing Finland’s accession and that the vote in parliament to ratify it would be held on 27 March.
The working dinner was held at the Élysée Palace, where Macron received the Hungarian Prime Minister in front of the press at around 7:30 p.m.
Gergely Gulyás stated that the government believes that it is necessary to prepare for a protracted war and that economic difficulties persist due to the sanctions. He added that Hungary’s position is clear: Hungary condemns Russian aggression and provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has recently held talks with his Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billström, in Stockholm.
‘Over the past decades, the number of fences at the EU borders has risen from 0 to 19.’
On 9 February, Mathias Corvinus Collegium organised a discussion with Henri Vanhanen, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The Finnish expert offered some valuable insights into why Finland wants to join NATO now, and how the thought process in that direction evolved over the years.
The remarks of a senior Turkish official on 14 January imply that it is unlikely Sweden and Finland would be able to join NATO before June.
The Swedish and the Finnish people should be given the opportunity to have a say in as to whether their countries should join a US-led military alliance and give up centuries of neutrality.
‘The hearing was broadcast live by several news agencies, that is why I am glad I was able to say the central message of Scripture that there is a solution to the problem of sin’
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.