– I do not see in this situation that the ratification would not take place, because there are no signals from either Turkey, the United States or any other country about anything else, he says in Sweden’s Radio’s Studio 1.
According to Billström, the government has no reason to reconsider the line it has taken since the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.
In the Lithuanian capital, Turkey, Sweden and NATO shook hands for Turkish President Erdogan to hand over Sweden’s NATO application to the parliament “as soon as possible”.
So far, however, no handover has taken place, despite parliament formally opening on Sunday. But Billström calls for calm:
— Parliament has not even been in session for a week. It is clear that you have to give this some time, he says.
Nor does Hungary appear to be moving forward in the country’s ratification process of Sweden’s membership.
When the Hungarian government set the agenda for next week, the issue was not included. In addition, several Hungarian politicians have directed criticism at Sweden recently, including for a four-year-old video from UR that describes democracy in the country as declining.
But Billström is not worried in that case either.
— It is important to remember that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that “we will not be last” – that is a clear and definite promise, he tells Studio ett.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, the city of Vilnius was incorrectly described.