parliament SwedenThe Riksdag voted in favor this Wednesday Joining the Atlantic Alliancea process that remains at the expense of the remaining legislatures of the Member States, which currently give final approval.
Thus, the Swedish Government received the ‘green light’ from the Parliament. annexation NATO and also approves a series of legislative amendments that will enter into force when the Executive deems fit, and which will turn to power in the event of war. Request direct assistance from the Atlantic Alliance Without the need for the resolution to be put to a vote in the Assembly.
Ended with the last vote 269 votes to, 43 abstentions and only 37 votes againstAs reported by the public television channel SVT, they are all members of the Left Party (V) and Green Party (MP).
As a matter of fact, Left Party representative Hanna Gunnarsson claimed that “how badly the NATO accession process was managed”, which should always be submitted to a popular vote, will write the history books in the future.
“Protect Sweden’s security”
If the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom celebrates ‘historic’ vote and stressed that “the best way to protect Sweden’s security and to contribute in solidarity to strengthening the security of the entire Euro-Atlantic region is NATO membership”.
Taking the opportunity to thank the support of six out of eight countries, the head of Swedish diplomacy said: “Sweden has unique capabilities to contribute in areas such as cybernetics, new technologies and space. Sweden will be an ally you can count on.” said. parties in the parliament.
Likewise, Defense Secretary Pal Jonson tweeted that Parliament’s decision ” important security and defense implications” and will contribute to “enhancing security stability”, an “absolutely necessary” aspect in Northern Europe.
However, the result of the population in the Swedish Parliament was also criticized by former officials, as was the case of former Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, who complained that Sweden had abandoned its historic neutrality and some of its independence.
“We will no longer be perceived as a brave country that can make independent decisions. But we will be a member of NATO and we will be viewed with greater suspicion by countries that choose to cooperate with countries that have no military affiliation” has been warned.
Turkey and Hungary’s refusal
Although the Swedish Riksdag approves future participation in the alliance, the decision is in the hands of the member states that mostly say ‘yes’ to Stockholm’s membership, but still receives rejections from Turkey and Hungary.
In the case of Hungary, the blockade appears to be the country’s currency. change to press European Union when approving new measures; For Turkey, it is essential for Sweden to extradite the so-called Kurdish terrorists and strengthen its commitment to these groups.
In fact, although Sweden and Finland jointly started the road to NATO membership, Helsinki, which managed to get a farewell certificate from Ankara and Budapest, seems closer to achieving it in the end.