Sweden has taken further steps towards NATO membership following an agreement with Turkey. But what steps remain? This is the NATO process in brief.
NATO’s handling of Sweden’s as well as Finland’s application can be summarized in eight points. They are in turn:
1) The applications were submitted on 18 May by Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO Ambassadors, in the form of letters, signed by the Foreign Ministers.
2) The letter was considered by NATO countries at an immediately convened meeting of ambassadors, in order to be able to decide on opening accession negotiations. Here, however, the process stopped temporarily, when Turkey sat on the sidelines.
3) Following Turkey’s yes, a short negotiation call awaits under the leadership of one of NATO’s eight Assistant Secretaries-General, German Bettina Cadenbach. The calls are only expected to take a single day.
4) NATO then produces a report stating whether the countries live up to the requirements set, including a new letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in which the country claims to have understood what applies and still wants to move forward.
5) The NATO countries then make a joint decision on whether it is possible to sign the accession protocol. NATO has previously said that these steps can be completed in a total of two weeks. However, several countries, such as Denmark and Estonia, have already given their initial green light.
6) When the minutes are signed, the country becomes an “invited member” (invitee in NATO English) with the right to participate in all NATO meetings, but without the right to vote.
7) The minutes are then sent to the 30 Member States for final approval in each country’s parliament. It normally takes at least six months, but is expected to go faster now, given the tense security situation surrounding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
8) When all countries have done their part and the applicant country has signed and all the paperwork has been filed in Washington, you become a full member.