Hungarian parliament approves Finland’s bid to join NATO

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s parliament has approved Finland’s bid to join NATO, ending months of delays and bringing the Nordic country one step closer to becoming a full member of the Western military alliance. Hungarian lawmakers on Monday voted 182 for and only six against with no abstentions. The vote came after Hungary’s government frustrated allies in NATO and the European Union by repeatedly postponing the measure for months after nearly all other members of the alliance had ratified Finland’s bid. With Hungary’s approval, Turkey is now the only one of NATO’s 30 members not to have ratified Finland’s NATO accession. However, Sweden’s membership bid still remains up in the air and a ratification vote by either Hungary or Turkey hasn’t been set yet.