Sweden's Tumultuous Road to Joining NATO
Sweden has been on a tumultuous road to joining NATO. The country applied for membership together with Finland in May 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, Sweden's accession has been blocked by Turkey, which has demanded that Sweden crack down on groups that Ankara views as security threats, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Sweden has been on a tumultuous road to joining NATO. The country applied for membership together with Finland in May 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, Sweden's accession has been blocked by Turkey, which has demanded that Sweden crack down on groups that Ankara views as security threats, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
In January 2023, pro-Kurdish activists briefly hung an effigy of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from a streetlight outside Stockholm's City Hall. Soon after, an anti-Islam activist from Denmark burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. These protests infuriated Turkey and led to the freezing of NATO talks with Sweden.
In April 2023, Finland was admitted to NATO, but Sweden's accession remained blocked. However, there was a breakthrough on Monday, when Turkey agreed to send Sweden's accession protocol to the Turkish Parliament in return for deeper cooperation on security issues and Swedish support for reviving Turkey's quest for EU membership.
While this is a major step forward, it is not yet a done deal. The Turkish Parliament still needs to ratify Sweden's accession, and it is unclear when that will happen.
In addition to Turkey, Hungary has also not yet ratified Sweden's NATO membership. However, many analysts believe that Hungary will approve Sweden's accession if Turkey looks likely to do the same.
If Sweden is able to overcome these final hurdles, it will become the 32nd member of NATO. This would be a major victory for Sweden and a significant blow to Russia.
