On October 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted Sweden’s NATO application to the parliament. The next step for it to be approved is for the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee to consider the issue.
– It is a source in the parliament who tells us that it will be taken up in the foreign affairs committee for consideration next week, says Paul Levin, head of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University.
Signals from the US point in the same direction, says Paul Levin.
– I already heard earlier this week from American sources that they had received signals that the Swedish foreign protocol would be processed in parliament and possibly ratified within two weeks.
NATO summit in just over two weeks
On November 28-29, NATO’s foreign ministers will meet in Brussels, which has previously been pointed out as a likely occasion when the Swedish flag can be raised outside NATO’s headquarters.
Erdogan’s harsh rhetoric against Israel in the conflict between Israel and Hamas may be a reason why he wants to speed up the process, says Levin.
– It could also be that Erdogan, who walks a political balance where he now criticizes Israel very harshly, lets the Swedish NATO application go through in order to buy himself political space among his NATO allies, and continues:
– The irritation against Erdogan’s actions is already very great within NATO.
If or when the foreign affairs committee deals with the issue, Sweden’s application must also be ratified in parliament.
– The big question is rather what happens in the parliamentary vote, whether Erdogan will use the party whip or let them vote according to their own conscience.