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full screen Stock image. Photo: Vadim Ghirda/AP
One for all, all for one.
After Hungary ratified Sweden, only details remain before Sweden is covered by NATO’s defense guarantee.
The fact that all member states have said yes does not mean that Sweden has NATO’s protection properly yet.
For this to happen, Sweden’s accession protocol must be handed over to the US government, which is the party that keeps the treaty. The plan is for Foreign Minister Tobias Billström to do this in Washington, and in the fastest scenario it could happen already at the end of the week.
Only when the government has handed over the document is Sweden covered by Article 5 – NATO’s foundation, which states that an attack against one member must be considered an attack against all.
Not automatic
What does it then mean that Sweden is covered by Article 5?
The reason is that other countries must come to Sweden’s aid if Sweden is attacked, and vice versa. But there is no automaticity, points out Kjell Engelbrekt, professor at the Norwegian Defense Academy.
– There must be both a political decision made in the North Atlantic Council (NATO’s highest political body), and then a decision on actions, he says.
It may therefore take some time before support arrives, and initially it is each member’s own responsibility to withstand an attack.
Decisions to activate Article 5 must also be taken unanimously. The question is whether it could become a problem, considering how long it took for all countries to say yes to Sweden as a new member. Kjell Engelbrekt doesn’t think so.
– I find it hard to imagine that the alliance is completely paralyzed. Above all, if it is a threat or attack against a member state, no one will prevent the others from acting.
However, not all countries have to provide soldiers or military equipment. According to the NATO treaty, there is no obligation to contribute militarily.
“The best insurance”
Engelbrekt nevertheless assesses that there is an interest on the part of the member states in living up to the defense guarantees.
– We believe that this is the best “fire insurance” you can get. There is no one better in our part of the world, he says.
The day the alliance does not act at all, especially in the event of an attack against an individual member state, then NATO will be consigned to history, says Engelbrekt.
– Then you need a new fire insurance.
NATO’s Article 5 has only been activated once so far, after the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. In an act of solidarity, NATO sent its surveillance and combat control aircraft (Awacs) to the United States to relieve the US Air Force and ensure that no more attacks.
FACTS Article 5
Fundamental to NATO’s Article 5 is that:
* Decision to activate Article 5 must be unanimous. No member state can be forced to intervene militarily against its will.
* The mutual security guarantees are only about defense when a member state is attacked.
* Each country itself decides which defense measures it considers necessary. Sending armed forces is permitted, but not mandatory.
* If NATO should not decide to activate Article 5, individual member states can still provide the support they want.
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