The meeting in Vilnius will be held on 11-12 July 2023 and the member states are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, among other things. It is still unclear whether Sweden will participate in the meeting, but it has been mentioned as an important date for Sweden’s application.
Turkey has long slowed down Sweden’s application. Many Nato advocates hope that a shift in power can speed up the process, as Erdogan’s challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu (CHP) has flagged for a revised foreign policy more oriented towards the EU and the West.
But Kilicdaroglu’s foreign policy advisor Unal Cevikö tells SVT that there is not enough time to approve the membership before the summit. In addition, they want to see how it goes with the new terrorism legislation that Sweden is introducing this summer.
– There has been great progress since last year. The progress shows that Sweden is willing to respond to Yurkiet’s expectations. We will see how the law can change things, says Unal Cevikö, the Turkish opposition’s foreign policy adviser.