Sweden inches closer to NATO after Turkish parliament panel approves bid

Sweden has inched closer to becoming a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, after the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission approved its membership bid yesterday. Turkey’s decision comes after 19 months of delay as Ankara had demanded security-related concessions from Stockholm.

In May 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan objected to Sweden’s bid alleging that the country gave protection to those whom Turkey deems terrorists. After this, Stockholm introduced a new anti-terrorism bill that makes being a member of a terrorist organization illegal. Now, Sweden’s NATO bid will face a vote in the Turkish parliament where Erdogan’s party also holds a majority. In April this year, Turkey ratified Finland’s bid but kept Sweden waiting for the NATO membership. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to include a new country. Only Turkey and Hungary have been holding out Sweden’s bid. Hungary has stalled Sweden’s bid, accusing Swedish politicians of blatant lies about Hungary’s democracy.