Current:Home > FinanceUS senators to submit resolution condemning democratic backsliding in Hungary-InfoLens
US senators to submit resolution condemning democratic backsliding in Hungary
View Date:2024-12-23 15:57:45
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Two U.S. senators will submit a bipartisan resolution to Congress condemning democratic backsliding in Hungary and urging its nationalist government to lift its block on Sweden’s accession into the NATO military alliance.
The resolution, authored by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, and Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, comes as Hungary’s government is under increasing pressure to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, something it has delayed for more than 18 months.
Unanimity is required among all NATO member countries to admit a new ally, and Hungary is the only one of the 31 member states not to have backed Sweden’s bid.
In the resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, the senators note “the important role Hungary can have in European and trans-Atlantic security,” but point out its failure to keep earlier promises not to be the last NATO ally to sign off on Sweden’s membership.
Hungary, the resolution says, “has not joined all other NATO member states in approving the accession of Sweden to NATO, failing to fulfil a commitment not to be last to approve such accession and jeopardizing trans-Atlantic security at a key moment for peace and stability in Europe.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch nationalist who has led Hungary since 2010, has said that he favors Sweden’s NATO accession, but that lawmakers in his party remain unconvinced because of “blatant lies” from Swedish politicians on the state of Hungary’s democracy.
After Turkey’s parliament voted to back Stockholm’s bid in January, attention has shifted to Budapest, the last holdout, as NATO members seek to expand the alliance amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The senators’ resolution criticizes Orbán’s increasingly warm relations with Russia and China, and notes that while Hungary has opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Moscow’s invasion, it has also “resisted and diluted European Union sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation.”
Orbán, widely considered to be the Kremlin’s closest EU ally, has long been criticized for flouting the bloc’s standards on democracy and the rule of law. The EU has withheld billions in funding from Budapest over alleged breaches of its rules.
A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers, including Shaheen and Tillis, is set to visit Budapest on Sunday for a “mission focused on strategic issues confronting NATO and Hungary,” underscoring the growing impatience among Hungary’s allies after its delays in ratifying Sweden’s NATO bid.
The senators’ resolution charges that Orbán has “used migration, the COVID-19 crisis, and the war against Ukraine” to justify successive states of emergency that have allowed the Hungarian government “to rule by decree, bypassing the parliament.”
It also criticizes Orbán for meddling in Hungary’s media landscape, restricting civil liberties and seeking to crack down on dissenting voices.
In a state of the nation speech in Budapest on Saturday, Orbán indicated that Hungary’s legislature might soon move forward on approving Stockholm’s NATO membership.
“It’s good news that our dispute with Sweden is nearing a conclusion,” he said. “We are moving toward ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO at the beginning of the spring session of Parliament.”
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- Usher confirmed as Super Bowl 2024 halftime show headliner: 'Honor of a lifetime'
- Måneskin's feral rock is so potent, it will make your insides flip
- 3 crocodiles could have easily devoured a stray dog in their river. They pushed it to safety instead.
- FC Cincinnati player Marco Angulo dies at 22 after injuries from October crash
- WEOWNCOIN︱Exploring the Rise of Digital Gold in Cryptocurrency Assets
- Poland accuses Germany of meddling its its affairs by seeking answers on alleged visa scheme
- Philippines vows to remove floating barrier placed by China’s coast guard at a disputed lagoon
- 2 weeks after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia, owner is seeking answers, justice
- Canadian autoworkers ratify new labor agreement with Ford
Ranking
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- Toymaker Lego will stick to its quest to find sustainable materials despite failed recycle attempt
- Dolphins rout Broncos 70-20, scoring the most points by an NFL team in a game since 1966
- Savannah Chrisley pays tribute to ex Nic Kerdiles after fatal motorcycle crash: 'We loved hard'
- 13 Skincare Gifts Under $50 That Are Actually Worth It
- Low and slow: Expressing Latino lowrider culture on two wheels
- EU commissioner calls for more balanced trade with China and warns that Ukraine could divide them
- France’s Macron to unveil latest plan for meeting climate-related commitments in the coming years
Recommendation
-
Republican David Schweikert wins reelection in affluent Arizona congressional district
-
A mayoral race in a small city highlights the rise of Germany’s far-right AfD party
-
Settlements for police misconduct lawsuits cost taxpayers from coast to coast
-
Feds open investigation into claims Baton Rouge police tortured detainees in Brave Cave
-
What Just Happened to the Idea of Progress?
-
Leader of Canada’s House of Commons apologizes for honoring man who fought for Nazis
-
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills to enhance the state’s protections for LGBTQ+ people
-
'We just collapsed:' Reds' postseason hopes take hit with historic meltdown