Hungarian Conservative

Conservatism is different in every nation, and so is approach to energy solutions. In this interview, Arvid Hallén, the founder of the only Swedish conservative think tank, Oikos, addresses these topics and also provides some background on Sweden’s NATO accession.

NATO accession, defending the countries of Central Europe, success in academia and standing up for one’s heritage. These topics interest many these days, and Joanna Siekiera is an expert on them. In this interview she discusses the ‘blocking’ of Swedish NATO accession, the influence of smaller EU countries globally, academia and cybersecurity.

Joanna Siekiera, Arvid Hallén, and Tamás Csiki Varga discussed how the European Union can and should be shaping its common defence policy in the wake of the emerging Russian threat, as well as what role NATO plays in European defence policy.

In a rare show of good faith and positivity, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman attended a joint exercise of American and Hungarian soldiers in Szentes, Hungary. At the event, he emphasized the importance of the military alliance between the two nations.

The Hungarian National Assembly approved the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO on 26 February. It is now up to the President of the Republic to sign the agreement, which will officially grant Sweden full membership in the defence alliance.

The Hungarian Ministry of Defence announced that due to Hungary’s increased involvement in foreign missions and the altered security environment, the Hungarian government has decided to procure an additional four JAS-39Cs to complement the current fleet of 14 Gripens.

The two-day parliamentary group meeting of Fidesz–KDNP began with a speech by Viktor Orbán on Wednesday. The gathering holds particular significance, given that the selection of the candidate for the head of state is on the agenda.

The protracting NATO accession process of Sweden seems to be reaching its conclusion, following the announcement of support for ratification by Fidesz parliamentary group leader Máté Kocsis.

A bipartisan US Senate delegation visited Budapest over the weekend to exert pressure on the Hungarian parliament to advance the ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership. The senators also held consultations with opposition politicians and NGO representatives, and are planning to propose a resolution condemning Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has confirmed in several forums and personally to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Hungary supports Sweden’s NATO accession. At the same time, the Hungarian ruling party also made it clear that the Swedish ratification of NATO may take place early in the regular parliamentary session, but this would first require a meeting between the two prime ministers in Budapest.

All MPs for the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition, as well as some for the left-wing opposition, were absent from the extraordinary parliamentary session called for Monday, thus the vote on Sweden’s NATO membership did not meet the threshold to be legally binding. US Ambassador David Pressman was also present, but then left the House disappointed.

‘We are nobody’s orderly,’ Hungarian House Speaker László Kövér stated in an interview with Index, addressing the question of the Hungarian ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession.

The Turkish parliament approved Sweden’s application for NATO membership on Tuesday, leaving only the Hungarian ratification to stand in the way of the Nordic country’s full membership.

Bóka explained that the timing of Sweden’s NATO membership ratification hinges on the pace and efficiency of trust-building between Hungary and Sweden, reassuring Hungarian parliamentary representatives who may have doubts and concerns.

‘Since Viktor Orbán became prime minister, his country has had one of the strongest economies in Europe. While the economies of Germany and France have been sputtering and stumbling, Hungary has continued to set an example of economic prowess and strength that much of the rest of Europe would be wise to follow,’ Larson wrote in his analysis published by The European Conservative.

At a press conference following her meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President Katalin Novák Novák ruled out the possibility of any ties between Hungary and Russia ‘which could undermine ties with its allies and commitments within NATO as well as in the European Union’.

‘It is one of history’s great ironies that Budapest, from which hundreds of thousands of European Jews were shipped to their deaths by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators, Jews can walk the streets this dreadful autumn without fear. This is an achievement for which Hungarians can and should be proud. Don’t expect European leaders to give Orbán credit. In fact, they will probably increase their public odium directed at him.’

House Speaker László Kövér of Hungary has claimed that while the administration and President Novák support Sweden’s NATO bid, there is division between Fidesz MPs in parliament on the issue. Meanwhile, President Erdoğan of Turkey, the other holdout country, is also walking back on his commitment to the ratification.

The government does not intend to hinder Sweden’s NATO membership, the Hungarian foreign minister stressed, noting that he has been in continuous consultation with Turkish leaders regarding both the Swedish and earlier, the Finnish NATO accession. Regarding the Ukrainian conflict, Szijjártó stated that as a neighbouring country, Hungary is in a unique position due to the large Hungarian community living in Transcarpathia.

‘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.’

From 15–21 July, students from 52 countries around the world participated in the EGOI held in Lund, Sweden. Similar to other informatics Olympiads such as CEOI and IOI, the contestants had to solve programming tasks—and the Hungarian team did an excellent job!

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.

According to Brussels sources, the Hungarian government’s resistance was in connection with concerns over migration-related policies. However, it may be the case that the Hungarian veto is linked to the almost decade-long dispute with Oslo over the Norwegian Fund.

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.

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.

‘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.