BUDAPEST: Hungary’s parliament has ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, clearing the last major obstacle to membership on Monday (Feb 26).
It brought an end to more than 18 months of delays by the nationalist government in Budapest that have frustrated Hungary’s allies. All existing NATO countries must give their approval before a new member can join the alliance. Hungary was the only hold-out.
WHY DOES SWEDEN WANT TO JOIN NATO?
Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it ditched its longstanding policy of nonalignment almost overnight and decided to apply to join the alliance together with neighbouring Finland.
Both Sweden and Finland, which joined the military alliance last year, had already developed strong ties with NATO after the end of the Cold War, but public opinion remained firmly against full membership until the war in Ukraine.
Nonalignment was seen as the best way to avoid tensions with Russia, their powerful neighbor in the Baltic Sea region. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership.
Political parties in both Finland and Sweden decided they needed the security guarantees that only come with full membership in the US-led alliance.
TURKEY REQUIRED CONDITIONS TO ACCEPT SWEDEN
While Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April, Sweden’s application has been held up. All alliance members but Turkey and Hungary gave their thumbs up. On Jan 23, Turkish legislators voted in favour of Sweden’s membership in NATO.
To let Sweden join, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put forth a series of conditions including a tougher stance toward groups that Turkey regards as threats to its security, such as Kurdish militants and members of a network it blames for a failed coup in 2016.
Although the Swedish government tried to appease Erdogan by lifting an arms embargo on Turkey and promising to cooperate in fighting terrorism, public demonstrations in Sweden by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and by anti-Muslim activists who burned the Quran complicated the situation.
Pressure from the US and other NATO allies on Turkey to remove its objections to Swedish membership appeared to have little effect until Erdogan said at a NATO summit last year that he would send the documents to Parliament for approval.
But the issue was held up in Parliament until lawmakers finally held a vote on the issue and ratified Sweden’s accession protocol. The Turkish government finalized the step by publishing the measure in an official gazette.
Source: CNA
