Sweden’s admission to NATO continues to be delayed: France’s Foreign Minister Colonna expresses great concern and emphasizes the importance of NATO’s strength and credibility.
From France’s perspective, the delays in Sweden’s admission to NATO threaten to have serious consequences. “This is about the strength and credibility of our alliance,” warned French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Turkey and Hungary are expected to immediately agree to Sweden’s entry into the alliance. “Not another day must be lost,” she demanded.
The meeting today and tomorrow was supposed to celebrate Sweden’s admission. However, Turkey has not yet completed the ratification of the so-called Accession Protocol. Hungary has not yet done this either, but has recently repeatedly promised that it would not be the last NATO country to give its consent to Sweden’s accession.
“Sweden has delivered”
In addition to Colonna, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and representatives from countries such as Finland also expressed frustration about the situation at the meeting. “I had hoped that Sweden would fully join NATO by this meeting,” said Stoltenberg, making it clear that, in his view, the government in Stockholm had fulfilled all the concessions Turkey had demanded. “Sweden has delivered. They are working more closely with Turkey in the fight against PKK and terrorist groups,” said Stoltenberg. That’s why he now expects Turkey to also adhere to the agreements and complete the ratification.
The fact that Sweden became a member of the joint alliance is “more than overdue,” said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. This step must now come, she emphasized. It is also about strengthening NATO as a security alliance against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Sweden applied for NATO membership in May 2022 under the impression of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and originally hoped to be able to join in the summer of 2022. However, Turkey then accused Swedish politicians of a lack of commitment against “terrorist organizations” such as the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and refused to give its consent. After concessions from Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that he would allow the so-called accession protocol to be ratified by the Turkish parliament. However, it is currently stuck in a committee there.
Source: Stern
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