'Extremely intolerable' to be questioned about our democracy: Hungarian PM

Hungary has raised concerns over the Finnish and Swedish politicians "habit" of criticising its democracy as "really unacceptable." Yet, following "reassurance" that these issues won't continue, the Hungarian parliament is prepared to vote on Finland's NATO membership. On the other hand, there are no plans for a vote on Sweden's bid, Sputnik reported.

Politicians in Hungary anticipate that Sweden won't criticise Budapest in a way that they deem to be unjustified. Balazs Orban, chief of staff to the Hungarian Prime Minister, has stated that a proclamation to this effect is necessary for Hungarian MPs to accept Sweden's application to join NATO.

"Continually questioning the state of democracy in Hungary," says Orban

"Some Hungarian MPs don't feel comfortable because they have witnessed in recent years certain members of the Swedish government making a habit of continually questioning the state of democracy in Hungary. They keep insulting Hungarian voters and MPs, and, through them, the whole of Hungary," Orban told Hungarian media.

He emphasised that Stockholm should treat Hungary with the same deference as Budapest does with Sweden's internal political matters. Finland's membership in NATO will likely be put to a vote in the Hungarian parliament today. In contrast, there are no plans for a vote on the Swedish offer.

According to Balazs Orban, Finland and Hungary share a "unique historical friendship," and both countries are sure that any issues will be resolved. "It seems that we have managed to get reassurance from the Finns that these problems will not persist, but in case of Sweden there is a different situation," he added.

"Extremely intolerable," says Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary

Peter Szijjarto, the foreign minister of Hungary, stated just last week that the West's criticism of Hungary's democratic and cultural concerns makes cooperation difficult, particularly when it comes to NATO expansion.

Szijjarto said, "You know, it's extremely intolerable when politicians from Finland and Sweden challenge the democratic nature of our political system." He added that it was difficult to forecast when Sweden would be admitted.

After the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden abandoned their long-standing non-alignment stance and jointly applied to join NATO. While all 30 countries of the bloc must agree before they can be fully accepted, they have so far had difficulty doing so because Hungary and Turkey have opposed accepting them.

Budapest and Ankara have declared their readiness to accept the Finnish offer exclusively, not the Swedish one, following a protracted debate and a relentless charm effort from both Nordic nations. In light of the current Quran-burning protests in Sweden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated earlier this year that Stockholm could not rely on Ankara's support for its NATO application.

Hungary, which shares a border with Ukraine, has taken a different stance from the EU in regards to the situation in Ukraine. Budapest has made energy agreements with Moscow and stopped the export of armaments from its territory to Kiev.