After nearly a year of waiting, refusals, tensions and vetoes, Finland officially entered NATO on Tuesday, after the parliaments of Hungary and Turkey finally approved the Scandinavian country’s accession last week. transatlantic alliance.
However, this entry is not as sweet as expected, as Finnish officials have repeatedly stated: Turkey continues to maintain its position. veto swedenInitiating the accession process to Turkey NATO in partnership with Finland. This Turkish blockade is expected to continue at least until the summer.
1. What did Finland do to be accepted?
After being reluctant, Turkey accepted Sweden and Finland to enter the reconciliation process at the NATO summit held in Madrid in July last year. participation to the transatlantic alliance. Ankarabut many but imposed. Türkiye, to confirm your entry helsinki And Stockholmdemanded that the two countries adapt their anti-terrorism laws and be much more stringent, especially against alleged terrorist organization members and their sympathizers. PKK guerrillasa group considered terrorist By Turkey and the EU, which has been at war against the Turkish government since the 1980s.
Thousands of alleged guerrilla connections live here. Europe Exiles – and most of them in Sweden, which Turkey used to call “the country” in the past. “terrorist nest”. Stockholm and Helsinki adapted their legislation and they promised more durability. According to this Türkiye, Finland satellite. Sweden, no.
2. Sweden is waiting
“Turkey is one of the countries that most vigorously defends the Turkish policy. NATO opens its doorsbut we believe that our security Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a statement two weeks ago, said that we should take this into account in the trilateral agreement we signed with Sweden and Finland in Madrid.
Therefore, according to Turkey, Sweden has not fulfilled all its promises to stop and suppress the actions and demonstrations of PKK sympathizers. But the Swedish government’s version is different: Stockholm guarantees that Turkey will demand the decisions and measures that the Swedish government wants. freedom of association and expressioncannot and is not authorized to receive.
3. List of 124 names
And the main reason for the dispute is a List of 124 people. According to Turkey, they are all members of the guerrilla in question: Ankara wants these people. deported From Sweden to Türkiye, to be tried there.
“We have red line inside counterterrorismand we delivered to sweden List of 124 terrorists We want him to be returned to our country. But they didn’t. Swedish Prime Minister good peopleof course, but it’s important to us concrete steps. And they didn’t,” Erdogan said when he announced that Finland could join NATO.
However, they will not be deported: Swedish courts have repeatedly decided to refuse their extradition, claiming that they would not accept these so-called terrorists if they were sent to Turkey. a fair trial.
4. Quran burnings and elections
There were also more points of disagreement. Danish far-right amid tensions between Türkiye and Sweden Rasmus Paludan burned a copy Koran – holy book Islam— In front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Paludan is linked to far-right pro-Russian groups.
The action angered Erdogan, who used the incident to blame the Swedish government. very permissive (It’s nearly impossible to legally ban a demonstration in Sweden) and meanwhile, deliver harsh political messages against the West in general and Sweden in particular. Erdogan will go to the polls from now on 14 may It is in the elections that are expected to be of key importance for Turkey’s future. According to the vast majority of polls, Erdogan may lose his power after 21 years at the helm of the Anatolian country.
5. Deadline: summit in Vilnius
For this reason, experts explain that Turkey is not expected to approve Sweden’s accession to NATO until after the May elections. What will happen after that date is something that no one can predict. The Turkish opposition has announced that it will not oppose Stockholm’s entry into the alliance if they win the elections. Erdogan, on the other hand, has not yet made a decision on the issue. Offer.
However, there is a psychological date marked on the calendar: NATO summit in July of this year Vilnius, Lithuania. The transatlantic alliance claims that Sweden is also in the photo of that meeting.