The official accession ceremony was held in the presence of Princess Victoria of Sweden, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Sweden officially becomes the 32nd member country of NATO. And thus puts an end to more than 200 years of neutrality. The Scandinavian country, which has not experienced conflict since 1814, applied for membership in May 2022, a few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Without your support and personal commitment, we would not be here. I know that you would have made the same efforts for any country applying for membership. But if your goal was to make us feel special to you, you really succeeded. Thanks also to all NATO allies who supported our membership and welcomed Sweden as the 32nd member of the Alliance. We are humble, but also proud” said Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden.
NATO requires its members to devote at least 2% of their GDP to their defense. Sweden, which has doubled its military spending in 4 years, should largely reach it this year.
Apart from its membership of NATO, Stockholm signed an agreement in December which authorizes the United States to have access to 17 military bases on Swedish soil.