Sweden still confident in rapid NATO accession

With only days to go until the NATO summit in Vilnius, the Swedish government still hopes that the country can become a member of the defense alliance by then, despite the fact that Turkey and Hungary – which have yet to ratify the process – have not scheduled a vote on the issue so far.

Stockholm, 2023. március 7. Ulf Kristersson svéd miniszterelnök (b) és Jens Stoltenberg NATO-fõtitkár sajtótájékoztatót tart Stockholmban 2023. március 7-én. MTI/EPA/TT Hírügynökség/Jonas Ekstromer Fotó: Jonas Ekstromer

Sweden is still hoping for a miracle to happen before the NATO summit next week. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson believes that his trip to Washington on Wednesday to meet US President Joe Biden, as well as the Swedish foreign minister's meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Turkey' foreign minister in Brussels on Thursday will remove any obstacles to Sweden's accession.

The Swedish government says Wednesday's visit to Washington could be significant in terms of the country's accession, because US support could help persuade Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden's NATO membership. 

If this succeeds, most observers believe that Hungary will also say yes to Sweden's membership application.

The Swedish government appears confident, even though the odds are very low. PM Kristersson's trip is not unprecedented, with Swedish politicians having made regular lobbying trips to Washington and Brussels in the past, so far without success.

At the same time, Swedes at home are unable to meet even the most basic Turkish demand, such as refraining from regular Quran burnings on the streets of Stockholm.  

The last such incident took place on Wednesday last week, outside a mosque in Stockholm.

Swedish police authorised another Quran-burning ‘protest’ in Stockholm yesterday, on the day of Eid al-Adha in front of the main central mosque in the Swedish capital.

The provocative and hateful ‘protest’ was attended by two men, one of whom is an Iraqi national, who… pic.twitter.com/sZ581MAXcK

— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) June 29, 2023

The demonstration has provoked strong reactions in the Islamic world in recent days, including the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad and the burning of Swedish flags in several places.

Arab protesters in Iraq 🇮🇶 burn Sweden's flag 🇸🇪 in retaliation to Stockholm's defence and protection of Quran desecration.

Elsewhere, Sweden's Embassy was stormed by larger crowd of demonstrators.#Iraq #Sweden #Quran #EidAlAdha pic.twitter.com/wTER9MvrnA

— Robert Carter (@Bob_cart124) June 29, 2023

The incident was condemned not just by Muslims, but by Pope Francis and the European Union, too. 

Sweden has had a social debate in recent months about whether it is legal to burn the holy book in public, with politicians and authorities making it clear that it is. Even the most recent Quran burning was carried out with police permission. Such events are permitted in the name of free speech and expression, even though it's clear that they could affect the process of NATO accession.

Theoretically, there is still the possibility that Turkey and Hungary will ratify Sweden's NATO application before the summit , to be held on 11–12 July, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not made any statements to this effect. To the contrary, he has regularly criticized the Swedish government, making it clear that he will not support the Scandinavian country's accession for the time being. It is also a certainty that Hungary's parliament will not vote on the issue this week, in line with last week's announcement.

Cover photo: Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson (l) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holding a press briefing in Stockholm, on March 7, 2023 (Photo: MTI/EPA/TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer)