By Grace Hamilton, Opinions and Editorials Editor

Sweden is now one step closer to gaining membership to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after Turkey’s parliament ratified its approval on Jan. 23.

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey voted 287-55 to approve Sweden’s application, clearing a major hurdle in expanding the military alliance. Initially, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan opposed the nation joining, but his majority ruling alliance approved the endorsement in the parliament.

Sweden, which has remained neutral in military conflicts for over two centuries, decided with Finland to make the move to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and applied for a membership bid in 2022.

The parliament’s endorsement of Sweden’s membership and a presidential decree from Erdogan approving the country’s accession were published in Turkey’s official gazette last Thursday.

“Welcome Türkiye’s approval of the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on X. 

“With this, a key milestone has been reached in Sweden’s path towards NATO membership,” he said.

Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s membership  —  led by Erdogan — lasted around 20 months and was based on its demands that certain conditions be met by Sweden. These demands included Sweden having a more severe stance on Kurdish militants and the organizers of a failed 2016 Turkish coup. 

While Sweden’s government worked to meet these conditions by lifting an arms embargo and swearing to help Turkey fight terrorism, public demonstrations supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, as well as anti-Islamic burnings of the Quran, impeded the deal. 

International pressure from NATO members over the past year pushed Erdogan to reconsider the conditions, until at last year’s summit he said he would send the necessary documents for approval to the Turkish parliament. 

In April of last year, Finland was granted acceptance to the alliance  —  becoming its 31st member. Sweden has made slower progress, with its efforts having been blocked by Turkey and Hungary, whose leaders maintain working relationships with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The final vote required for Sweden’s ascension to the alliance has to come from Hungary, who has shown reluctance to approving Sweden on the basis of its “openly hostile attitude” towards Budapest and its criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. 

Orbán has reportedly invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to negotiate terms, stating in a letter, “I am convinced that strong mutual trust must be the foundation of any political and security arrangements between Sweden and Hungary.” 

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström replied that he doesn’t see “any reason to negotiate,” but that he does want to encourage dialogue between the two countries. Should Hungary vote to allow Sweden’s acceptance to NATO, the new member country will be able to support aid to Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia, as the current members are having difficulty in continuing to supply arms to Ukraine.

Sweden’s membership would also mean that the Baltic Sea would be surrounded by NATO members, as it is Russia’s point of access to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad Oblast.

If they become a full member, Sweden has promised to increase their defense spending in order to meet NATO’s target of 2% of GDP. Hungary’s vote will not be decided until at least Feb. 26, the day of its next scheduled parliamentary assembly. 

Unless an emergency session is called, Sweden’s NATO membership will not be decided until then.