Finland Parliament Speaker Says Hungary Is Unable To Give Date For NATO Vote

Finnish Parliament Speaker Matti Vanhanen told reporters that Hungary supports his country's entry to the NATO but has so far been unable to provide a date for holding a parliamentary vote on the matter.

• Vanhanen spoke after holding an "air-clearing discussion" with the Hungarian delegation led by Csaba Hende, the Deputy Speaker of Hungary's legislature. Hende only mentioned that "parliament decides on the date" of the vote and could not provide any detailed timeline.
• The admission of new NATO members must be ratified by the legislatures of all existing member states of the alliance. Turkey and Hungary remain the only NATO member states which are yet to ratify the accession protocols of the two Nordic countries.
• Nacsa Lorinc, a foreign policy representative of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, last week told Finnish public broadcaster Yle that the process keeps dragging on because Finland and Sweden have "insulted Hungarians" by demanding that Budapest adheres to the rule-of-law standards recommended by the EU.