As of: February 26, 2024, 5:20 p.m
By: Erkan Pehlivan
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The Hungarian Parliament approves Sweden's accession to NATO.
The country is thus ending a negotiation marathon that has lasted several years.
Budapest – After the start of the Ukraine war two years ago, Sweden and Finland submitted applications for NATO membership.
At first it was thought that the whole thing would just be a formality, but the recording turned out to be an odyssey for the Scandinavian countries.
That seems to be over.
While Finland has already become a member of the Western defense alliance, Sweden is on the verge of doing so.
The Hungarian parliament approved Sweden's application for NATO membership on Monday in its first plenary session after returning from the winter break.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party had already signaled its support for the ratification of the proposal after a long blockade.
The path is clear for Sweden to join the Western defense alliance.
A look back:
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Hungary and the Swedish Prime Minister at a joint press conference on February 23, 2024. © IMAGO/Attila Volgyi
Sweden will apply for NATO membership in 2022
First there were a few hurdles to overcome.
On May 18, 2022, Sweden submitted its application for NATO membership together with Finland.
The alliance's heads of state and government then issued the official invitation to the Scandinavian accession candidates on June 29, 2022.
But there was resistance from within their own ranks.
Turkey and Hungary in particular have delayed accession talks.
Ankara demands extradition of “terrorists” for approval of Sweden’s NATO membership
Sweden assured Ankara that it would review demands for the extradition of suspected terrorists.
Both countries also promised to no longer support the Kurdish YPG in Syria.
Ankara had given Sweden lists of names whose extradition the AKP government is demanding.
There were journalists among them.
However, Sweden does not deliver these.
However, the country tightened its anti-terrorism laws under pressure from Ankara.
Finland is already further ahead: at the end of March, the Turkish parliament was the last representative of the member states to vote to ratify Finland's application to join the military alliance.
On April 4, Finland became the 31st member state of NATO after decades of military freedom from alliances.
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Another setback for Sweden's NATO membership was the burning of the Koran.
The Muslim holy book was burned and trampled on in several cities in Sweden, sometimes under police protection.
The situation during the subsequent demonstrations was tense.
Protests in front of Swedish institutions also followed in Turkey and other Muslim countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also used the Koran burnings as an opportunity to withhold his consent to join NATO.
Türkiye wants US fighter jets - a bargaining chip for Sweden's accession to NATO?
Turkey also made demands on the other NATO states.
These primarily include F-16 fighter jets from the USA, which we have been demanding for years.
The US Congress had prevented deliveries of the modern fighter jets, among other things because Turkey had repeatedly threatened to attack Greece.
Greece, in turn, should not only receive F-16 fighter jets from the USA, but also modern F-35 models from the USA.
At the start of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, the Turkish president signaled his approval for Sweden to join the Western defense alliance.
“I am happy to be able to say that President Erdogan would like to introduce the Swedish NATO application to parliament as quickly as possible,” said a visibly relieved NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
But it was not until January that the green light from the Turkish parliament for Sweden to join NATO followed.
A short time later, the US government announced that it would sell Turkey the F-16 aircraft it was demanding.
However, this will take up to five years as the machines still have to be built.
Hungarian parliament votes on Sweden joining NATO
In addition to Turkey, Hungary also blocked Sweden's accession because the country had also made demands on its Western partners.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasized that it was important to clarify bilateral disputes before ratifying Sweden's accession to NATO.
This was done “in a dignified manner” by the visit of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last Friday.
Orban emphasized that military cooperation agreements had also been concluded “for mutual benefit”.
He was referring to agreements for the purchase and maintenance of Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets, which were signed on Friday during Kristersson's visit.
Only then did Orban give his consent.
On Monday (February 26, 2024), the Hungarian parliament cleared the last hurdle for Sweden to join NATO.
(erpe)