Hungarian President Katalin Novák has called on the country’s parliament to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO as soon as possible. MPs began debating the government’s proposal on the issue on Wednesday.

“My position is clear-cut: in the present situation, the accession of Sweden and Finland is justified. I trust the National Assembly will make a wise decision as soon as possible!” the Hungarian head of state wrote on Twitter.

“This is a complex decision, with serious consequences, so careful consideration is necessary,” she added.

2/2 My position is clear-cut: in the present situation, the accession of #Sweden and #Finland is justified. I trust the National Assembly will make a wise decision as soon as possible! pic.twitter.com/6OnjZRoFxW

— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovakMP) March 1, 2023

The government submitted a proposal to parliament to ratify the accession last July, but the vote on the issue has been postponed several times since then.

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Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked Fidesz-KDNP coalition MPs to support the Finnish and Swedish proposals but said that some of them were not too enthusiastic about it. The reason was said to be that these countries “spread lies about Hungary’s democracy and the rule of law.”

It was therefore decided to send a parliamentary delegation to Finland and Sweden to discuss the contentious issues before the parliamentary vote, which is expected to take place in the second half of March.

The two Nordic countries applied to join NATO in May 2022 after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Hungary is the last Alliance country besides Turkey that has not yet approved Finland and Sweden’s admission to NATO.