Per editor: Du Yu
According to CCTV news on March 23, the Swedish parliament voted on the 22nd to approve the government's proposal on Sweden's accession to NATO.
The Swedish Parliament has a total of 349 seats. In the day's vote, there were 269 votes in favor and 37 against, and 43 MPs were absent.
Sweden Social Democratic parliamentarian and former foreign minister Walter Ström said on the 22nd that the decision to join NATO will affect Sweden's independence. Sweden's Left Party and the Environment Party have criticized Sweden for "joining a coalition that will ultimately base deterrence on nuclear weapons," saying it would lead to a narrowing of the scope of Sweden's independent foreign policy and possible involvement in other conflicts.
On March 22, 2023, local time, in Stockholm, Sweden, parliamentarians sit in the Swedish Parliament. Swedish parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly in favor of Sweden's accession to NATO and signed the legislation necessary for joining NATO. (Image source: Visual China-VCG111428375701)
Last May, Sweden and neighboring Finland simultaneously applied to join NATO. According to the protocol, NATO can only admit new members with the "unanimous consent" of its 30 members. At present, Turkey and Hungary have not officially ratified Finland and Sweden.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on the 17th of this month that Turkey recognized Finland's efforts to join NATO and decided to start the relevant procedures for approving Finland's accession to NATO. In addition, the Hungarian parliament will vote on whether to approve Finland's accession to NATO on the 27th.
Sweden's accession to NATO blocked delays Finland? NATO: Don't be obsessed with "two countries at the same time"
According to surging news, on February 14, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that it is more important for these two countries to join NATO as soon as possible than Sweden and Finland joining NATO at the same time.
According to Reuters on February 14, only Turkey and Hungary of the 30 NATO members have not officially approved Sweden and Finland's application for membership.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has opposed Sweden's application to join NATO. Erdogan alleges that Sweden "harboured" PKK members that Turkey considers terrorists.
On March 15, 2023, local time, Berlin, Germany, Swedish Prime Minister Christersson held a press conference after talks with German Chancellor Scholz (not seen) at the Federal Chancellery. (Image source: Visual China-VCG111427355559)
Western officials have said they prefer Sweden and Finland to join NATO at the same time. For NATO, the simultaneous accession of Sweden and Finland means that NATO can more easily integrate the two countries into the military structure. But Stoltenberg met with defense ministers in Brussels, where NATO headquarters are located, that whether Sweden and Finland join NATO at the same time is "secondary."
"Whether Finland and Sweden will be ratified [NATO membership] at the same time is not the main issue. The main issue is for them to be approved as full members of NATO as soon as possible. Stoltenberg said.
During a February 14 visit to Stockholm, the Swedish capital, German Foreign Minister Baerbock said she hoped Sweden and Finland would quickly and "shoulder to shoulder" join NATO, given Sweden's "response" to Turkey's concerns.
NATO Secretary-General: I hope Sweden and Finland will "join the treaty" before the NATO summit
According to CCTV news, on February 23, local time, according to Reuters, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that his goal is to make Finland and Sweden full members before the NATO summit scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.
Stoltenberg said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had agreed to a meeting between Turkey, Finland and Sweden at NATO headquarters in mid-March "to address Turkey's challenges in approving Sweden's membership in NATO."
Swedish Defense Minister: Joining NATO is 'top priority now'
According to reference news on December 16, 2022, Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" website reported on the 15th that Swedish Defense Minister Boll Rongsong said in an interview during the Berlin Security Conference that for the new Swedish government, joining NATO is "the top priority at present."
Rongsong said that as Sweden seeks to join NATO, taking into account NATO's "guidelines", Sweden will increase defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026, two years ahead of schedule. Sweden's previous government had committed to spending 2% of GDP on defense by 2028.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Sweden spent about $7.9 billion on defense in 2021, or 1.3% of GDP.
According to the report, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Sweden ended its 200-year military nonalignment policy and applied for NATO membership with Finland in May 2022.
The Swedish Environment Party and the Left Party are adamant against Sweden's entry into NATO
According to surging news, on May 13, 2022 local time, the Swedish parliament released a security policy analysis report jointly drafted by all parties, but the Swedish Environment Party and the Left Party still said that they oppose Sweden's entry into NATO.
Maria Feim, a member of parliament from the Swedish Environment Party, stressed that the environmental party supports the report to some extent, "We need to continue to impose clear sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine in humanitarian, economic and military terms." At the same time, we must uphold Sweden's basic norms as a liberal democracy. ”
Maria Feim also stressed that there are also some risks in some parts of the report: "Today, we can see that democratic freedoms are threatened in some countries, even NATO members. Although this situation is not explicitly mentioned in the report, the attitude of the environmental party against Sweden's accession to NATO has not changed, and we do not agree with the statement about NATO written in the report. ”
Hakan Svenning, a lawmaker from Sweden's Left Party, was critical of Sweden's choice to join NATO, "I think the people who support this move don't realize the risks of Sweden's joining NATO." We have long worked to improve Sweden's security policy, in which freedom of association is of paramount importance to us. I am very worried that for a long time to come, conflicts between major powers will upset Sweden. I do not want Sweden to fall into such a situation, which is why I am against Sweden's entry into NATO. ”
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