Hungary–Sweden relations

Hungary–Sweden relations are foreign relations between Hungary and Sweden. Sweden has an embassy in Budapest. Diplomatic relations between the two countries started on 28 December 1945. These relations developed to a higher ambassador level. In Stockholm there is a Hungarian embassy. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe, European Union and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Hungary–Sweden relations
Map indicating locations of Hungary and Sweden

Hungary
Sweden
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Hungary, StockholmEmbassy of Sweden, Budapest

History

Raoul Wallenberg between July and December 1944 issued protective passports and housed Jews, saving tens of thousands of Jewish lives in Hungary from the Swedish embassy.[1][2]

Formal diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations between the two countries started on 28 December 1945. Both nations maintain ambassador level embassies in each other's capitals, Budapest and Stockholm.

The King of Sweden visited in October 1996. Björn von Sydow, who was the Swedish defence minister in Göran Persson's government between 1997 and 2002 took a formal visit in Budapest in 1996.

Anna Lindh, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, was murdered in Stockholm, and the Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs honored her with a memorial on 28 May 2004 in Budapest's City Park.

International agreements and organisations

After the revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Hungary and Sweden saw fit to join several of the same intergovernmental organisations.

Council of Europe

Sweden was a founding member of Council of Europe on 5 May 1949. Hungary joined on 6 November 1990.

European Union

Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995, alongside Austria and Finland, while Hungary joined the EU on 1 May 2004 alongside 9 other (mostly former Soviet & Soviet satallite) states.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Further information: Sweden–NATO relations

Hungary joined NATO alongside the Czech Republic and Poland on 12 March 1999 in the fourth enlargement of NATO.

Sweden, along with Finland, applied to join NATO on 17 May 2022, and the two countries were formally invited to join the alliance when the accession protocols were signed on 5 July. This started the ratification process in which all 30 current members must approve any applicant if they are to become a member. 28 member states had ratified the Swedish application by 28 September 2022, the confirmations of which were formally registered by 14 October. The last two holdouts were Hungary and Turkey.[3][4][5]

The Hungarian government submitted the relevant documents to the National Assembly in July, but the latter declined to process the request before it was prorogued for the year.[6] In October, the Finnish President along with Finnish and Swedish media speculated that Hungary was delaying their approval of the Nordic applications in order to maintain political leverage on EU matters, though they regarded Turkey's approval as a more significant obstacle.[7] The Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, stated in November that he expected parliament to ratify Swedish accession when they reconvene in mid-February.[6] Instead the ratification vote was postponed several times by the Hungarian parliament.[8] On the 29th of March the spokesman for Orbán, Zoltán Kovács, wrote on his blog a list of grievances that needed to be addressed before Sweden’s admission could be ratified.[9]

Military relations

Both Hungary and Sweden have been aligned with NATO in the post-Cold War era. Hungary joined NATO in 1999, and Sweden applied to join in 2022.

Saab JAS 39 Gripen
Main articles: Saab JAS 39 Gripen § Hungary, and Hungarian Air Force § Recent history

Shortly after Hungary joined NATO in 1999, a push was made to replace the Air Force's MiG-29 fleet with a NATO-compatible fighter force. By 2001, several offers had been received, including a Swedish offer of 24 JAS 39 C/D's, and a US offer of 24 used F-16's. Despite the fact that the professional committees favored the F-16, on 10 September 2001, the Swedish bid won.[10] On 20 December 2001, Hungary signed a contract with the Swedish Government in order to lease 14 JAS 39 Gripens, for 12 years beginning in 2006.[11][12] By December 2007 all 14 jets had been delivered.[13]

In 2012, Hungary decided to extend the lease until March of 2026.[14][15] The aircraft were upgraded in 2017 and 2022.[16][17] After the lease period expires, Hungary will own the remaining Gripens.[11][18]

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References
  1. "Raoul Wallenberg". Yad Vashem. Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2007-02-12. who saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II ... and put some 15,000 Jews into 32 safe houses.
  2. "Raoul Wallenberg, Life and Work". New York Times. 1991-09-06. Retrieved 2007-02-12. The K.G.B. promised today that it would let agents break their vow of silence to help investigate the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who vanished after being arrested by the Soviets in 1945.
  3. Lehto, Essi; Ringstrom, Anna (2022-11-01). "Finland urges Turkey, Hungary to swiftly approve Swedish, Finnish NATO bids". Reuters. Helsinki. Archived from the original on 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-01-25. Hungary and Turkey are the only two remaining NATO members to not yet have ratified the applications.
  4. Major, Darren (2023-01-22). "Swedish foreign minister says country closing in on NATO membership approval". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Canada. Archived from the original on 2023-01-22. Retrieved 2023-01-25. But Turkey — along with Hungary — has yet to approve the bids. The Turkish government has said Sweden in particular needs to crack down on Kurdish and other groups that Ankara considers terrorists.
  5. Alpár, Kató (2022-10-04). "Hungarian Parliament not yet to vote on ratification of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO". Daily News Hungary. Archived from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2023-01-28. It was announced before the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June that all member states had agreed to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. [official finalisation] has now been done by all except Turkey, which is already opposed to accession, and Hungary, which is waiting for an unknown reason.
  6. Charlish, Alan; Florkiewicz, Pawel; Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Anna (2022-11-24). Richardson, Alex (ed.). "Hungary to ratify NATO membership for Finland, Sweden early next year - PM Orban". Reuters. Warsaw. Archived from the original on 2022-11-24. Retrieved 2023-01-25. "Hungary will surely give its backing to their accession, after the government had done, also parliament will do so," Orban said. Parliament normally reconvenes around mid-February.
  7. Woods, John (2022-10-08). "Sweden and Finland afraid that Hungary will veto their NATO-accession". Daily News Hungary. Archived from the original on 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2023-01-28. [...] Hungary might slow down the accession process based on what Márton Tompos, a politician of opposition Momentum told them. Tompos believes that Orbán uses the Finnish and Swedish NATO accession to blackmail Brussels. Orbán wants access to the EU funds denied because of the corruption in Hungary.
  8. SPIKE, JUSTIN (2023-03-16). "Hungary pressures EU by delaying Finland, Sweden NATO vote". The Associated Press. Budapest. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-31. Hungary's parliament this month postponed a ratification vote twice in two weeks, and has not given a firm date on when the vote might take place.
  9. Krisztina, Than (2023-03-29). "Hungary says 'grievances' hold up ratification of Sweden's NATO accession". Reuters. Budapest. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-03-31. "In the case of Sweden, there is an ample amount of grievances that need to be addressed before the country's admission is ratified," Kovacs said on his blog.
  10. "Hungary Chooses JAS Gripen". www.defense-aerospace.com. 2001-09-11. Archived from the original on 2022-04-10. Retrieved 2021-01-09. According to the Hungarian Minister for Defense, Janos Szabo, one of the reasons why Hungary decided to proceed with the Swedish offer was that "great importance was given to the economic aspects".
  11. "Saab receives SEK 2 billion order for Hungarian lease of 14 Gripen fighters". Saab Group (Press release). 2003-02-07. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2023-01-28. After a leasing period of ten years, Hungary intends to buy the aircrafts [sic]. The 14 Gripen fighters will be modified at Saab Aerospace in Linköping, Sweden and will be delivered in 2006.
  12. "Gripen roars over Hungary for 15 years". Saab Group. 2021-03-30. Archived from the original on 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2023-01-28. At the end of 2001, the Hungarian government signed a contract on the leasing of 14 Gripen fighters (12 single-seaters and two two-seaters)
  13. "Hungarian Gripens get CAS role". AIRheads↑FLY. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  14. Wall, Robert (2012-01-31). "Hungary Extends Gripen Lease To 2026". Aviation Week Network. London. Archived from the original on 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-01-28. The Hungarian government has extended its lease of Gripen fighters until at least 2026.
  15. "Swedish FMV updates Gripen fighter lease agreement with Hungary". Airforce Technology. 2017-02-23. Archived from the original on 2017-02-26. Retrieved 2023-01-28. The agreement, which also covers training and support, was renewed in 2012 and is valid until March 2026.
  16. Tamir, Eshel (2022-01-12). "Hungary to Upgrade its Leased Gripen Fleet". defense-update.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2023-01-28. Hungary will soon operate improved Gripen fighter jets similar to those used by the Swedish Air Force, following the modernization of its leased aircraft to the latest version MS20 Block 2 version. This upgrade brings several improvements in sensors, weapons, and avionics.
  17. Sakshi, Tiwari (2022-01-14). "'Gripen On Rent': JAS-39 Fighter Jets, Leased By Sweden To Hungary, Set For Major Combat & Communication Upgrades". The EurAsian Times. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2023-01-28. The Saab Gripen fighter jets used by the Hungarian Air Force are set for an upgrade. The last time the aircraft — leased from Sweden — got an upgrade was in 2017.
  18. "Hungary extends Gripen lease-buy". UPI. Linköping. 2012-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-28. Hungary will continue to fly Saab's Gripen fighter under a 10-year, lease-buy agreement with the Swedish government and has extended its contract.
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