Sweden's NATO Membership One Step Closer... Passed Turkey Parliament Standing Committee

Only the Plenary Session and Presidential Signature Remain
Hungary Has Not Yet Ratified

The ratification bill for Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has passed the standing committee of the Turkish Parliament, signaling a positive development for Sweden's long-delayed NATO membership. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Nordic countries feeling threatened are seeking to strengthen collective defense under the U.S.-led security umbrella.

According to major foreign media on the 26th (local time), the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament approved the ratification bill for Sweden's NATO membership on the same day.

This comes a month and a half after the Turkish Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee suspended discussions on the ratification bill last month due to the need for clarifications on certain issues and insufficient negotiations with Sweden. The final ratification still requires approval by the plenary session and the president's signature. However, the Turkish Parliament has not specified the timing for the final ratification.

Fuat Oktay, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, explained, "We should not expect a swift approval of the ratification bill in the parliamentary plenary session," adding, "The Speaker of the Parliament will decide the timing of the plenary vote."

This move by the Turkish Parliament brings Sweden's NATO membership closer. Sweden and Finland, previously neutral countries, applied for NATO membership in May last year, three months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, due to security threats. For Sweden to join NATO, all 30 existing member countries must ratify the accession protocol in their respective parliaments; Turkey and Hungary's approval processes remain pending. Finland joined NATO in April this year.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, welcomed the development, stating, "Sweden's accession will make NATO stronger," and urged Hungary to ratify promptly. Tobias Billstr?m, Sweden's Foreign Minister, tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), "The next step is the parliamentary plenary vote in Turkey," adding, "We look forward to becoming a member of NATO."

However, Hungary, which has a pro-Russian stance, has yet to ratify Sweden's NATO accession. Hungary has also opposed the European Union's 50 billion euro aid package for Ukraine, representing Russian interests in the region.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.