The Swedish process to become a member of NATO has been going on for almost 19 months. Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified the Swedish application, but on Tuesday the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee gave the green light to the application. The issue will later be raised in parliament.
– This is an important step closer to Sweden’s NATO membership. Not the last step, but a clear step in the right direction for Sweden, says Paul Levin, director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University.
The members of the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee represent the political division in the parliament, which means that the majority that the NATO application received today is also likely in the chamber.
– But you can’t be completely sure. I think that the vote in the chamber takes place by secret ballot, which means that it will be difficult to use the party whip, says Levin.
Turkey: No rush with the vote
The head of the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee says, according to Reuters, in a statement that one should not expect a hasty vote. Otherwise, there are still no indications of when the members may come to vote on Swedish NATO membership.
When, and if, the parliament also votes yes, the final step is for Turkish President Erdogan to sign the decision. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee stated after the decision that one should not expect a hasty vote.
“The government is sober”
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) welcomes today’s announcement but does not want to comment further until the Turkish parliament has decided on the matter. SVT’s domestic policy commentator Mats Knutson is not surprised by the government’s caution:
– You are sober. Several times when the government thought the matter had been settled, there have been new demands from the Turkish president that have delayed the issue even further.