Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hailed it “a historic day”. This Hungarian ratification paves the way for Sweden’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
Sweden in NATO, it is now established. The Hungarian Parliament ratified this Monday the Scandinavian country’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance. Stockholm’s candidacy was approved by an overwhelming majority of MPs. This vote ends two years of chaotic negotiations.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed “a historic day” : “Sweden is now leaving behind 200 years of neutrality and non-alignment. This is a big step. We must take this seriously.”
Stockholm will therefore officially become the 32nd member of the Alliance in the coming days. Accession which will make NATO “stronger”, estimated Jens Stoltenberg. “Sweden has very capable forces, a first-rate defense industry and it devotes 2% of its GDP to defense. This also demonstrates that the door to NATO is open, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “failed in its attempt to close NATO’s door.”
In Sweden, however, the news is not unanimous.“I guess it’s finally time. This is the right path for us. I think in this new era it’s better to be part of an alliance than to be independent and neutral.” says Jacob Frederiksen, a young pilot.
Bank employee Ulrika Eklund hesitates: “I’m not sure I want us to join NATO as well, or what effect that will have on Sweden, as we have all always been a neutral country.”
Stockholm has worked closely with NATO since 1994. But the additional step of membership now brings them the guarantee of Article 5 of the Alliance Charter, according to which an attack against one of the members amounts to an attack on all others and leads to the united response of all its participants.
The last elements of the membership process should be finalized in the coming weeks.