Sweden’s NATO application has still not been ratified by all members.
But even if Sweden is still outside NATO, the country’s security is good.
– We are safer now than we were before we submitted the application, says Henrik Landerholm, national security advisor.
It was just over a year since Sweden’s government submitted the country’s application to join the NATO defense alliance. But Sweden is still not ratified by all members. Turkey and Hungary remain.
– We have had a bit of a waiting period after the Turkish election. Now Erdogan is installed and there is a new government in place with many new ministers. It is clear that it will be a bit of a rematch, but we hope that the process will be able to continue and have a meeting as early as next week with Turkey and Finland.
However, there are signs that Turkey and Hungary will ratify Sweden’s application. During National Day, Omni reported that former KD leader Alf Svensson has received word from close associates of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that Hungary is ready to approve Sweden’s application – before the alliance summit in Vilnius. Landerholm does not want to speculate about that information, but admits that it is interesting.
– All such information is of interest. There is a lot of such information out there that we are trying to take advantage of. First and foremost, the process with Turkey is on the agenda, where we have a process that we hope to conclude within the next few weeks.
Summit in Vilnius
On July 11, a NATO summit will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has previously said that he believes it is possible for Sweden to join NATO before the meeting. Landerholm does not take it very seriously that Sweden would not be members before then – in the short term. In a longer perspective, he believes that it is bad both for Sweden and for NATO.
– In the longer term, there are some questions that will be a little difficult. It is above all that we are not an integral part of NATO’s defense planning. It is primarily a big one for NATO, which has responsibility for a very large area, including the Baltics, where Sweden is a very important base area to be able to defend NATO’s territory.
He continues:
– For Sweden, there will be a degree of uncertainty linked to the fact that we are not covered by article five of the Washington Treaty.
Just a matter of time
However, Sweden still has good cooperation with NATO’s heavyweight countries.
– We have heavy security assurances from the key allies, the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany. We are safer now than we were before we submitted the application.
Landerholm believes it is only a matter of time before Sweden is admitted to the alliance.
– Sweden will become a member sooner or later. That is beyond reasonable doubt.