Sweden cleared the final obstacle to gaining NATO membership in a move that will solidify the alliance\u2019s grip over Northern Europe and the Baltic region.<\/p>\n
The approval by Hungary\u2019s parliament Monday came 21 months after the Nordic country submitted its membership bid jointly with Finland in response to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
With the wider war now in its third year and support to Kyiv flagging, Sweden\u2019s accession into NATO helps bolster Europe\u2019s security amid rising concerns Russia could even target the bloc\u2019s members in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cSweden now leaves 200 years of neutrality and non-alignment behind,\u201d Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters in Stockholm. \u201cThat\u2019s a big step \u2014 we should take that seriously. But it is also a very natural step to take.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Vladimir Putin\u2019s aggression on Ukraine was partly aimed at preventing NATO from expanding further eastward. As Ukraine suffers from severe shortages of ammunition and has recently lost ground on the battlefield, there are fears that onslaught may represent just the first phase of broader imperial ambitions. Military leaders in Sweden have warned its citizens to be mentally prepared for war.<\/p>\n
The Swedish membership is due to become finalized within a matter of days, once ratification documents are deposited with the U.S. State Department, after which Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will invite Sweden to accede to the Washington Treaty. No date for the ceremony has been set yet, Kristersson said.<\/p>\n
When Finland became a member in April, it doubled the length of the border NATO shares with Russia. Adding Sweden strengthens the defense of that eastern flank, allowing the alliance to dominate the Baltic Sea region and facilitating the transit of troops and equipment from Norway\u2019s North Sea ports to the east.<\/p>\n
The accession also represents a momentous shift for a nation that pursued various versions of neutrality to stay out of wars for 200 years. The Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago overturned Sweden\u2019s security calculus, prompting an about-face by a government then led by the Social Democratic party, previously a staunch opponent of NATO membership for decades.<\/p>\n
While Sweden was welcomed by most allies with open arms, the accession process has been a grueling experience, full of stops and starts. Turkey long demanded concessions, until it finally ratified in January after securing a U.S. pledge on the sale of F-16 fighter jets. That left Hungary as the only holdout, even as Prime Minister Viktor Orban had vowed to not be the last country to pass the bid.<\/p>\n
The Hungarian leader, who struggled to articulate the reason behind his foot-dragging, relented after a visit to Budapest by his Swedish counterpart last week. Portrayed by Orban as a trust-building exercise, the visit also involved the two countries agreeing on a sale of Swedish Gripen warplanes to Hungary\u2019s air force.<\/p>\n
Hungary\u2019s approval is the latest in a string of high-profile issues where Orban ultimately relented. On Feb. 1, he dropped his opposition to an EU aid package he had vetoed less than two months prior. Orban has also reversed course on a pledge to block opening the path to Ukraine\u2019s EU membership.<\/p>\n
Bringing Sweden into NATO adds a technologically sophisticated military that has participated in the bloc\u2019s exercises for decades. The Nordic country has a large defense industry sprung from its Cold War policy of being self-sufficient for its military needs. Today, Sweden is one of the world\u2019s largest arms exporters per capita and the smallest nation that has developed modern fighter jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Sweden joins NATO, the Nordic region will have a common defense for the first time in 500 years,\u201d Kristersson said. \u201cWe are neighbors, we remain friends and we become allies. We will defend freedom alongside the nations that are closest to us \u2014 geographically, emotionally and in terms of values.\u201d<\/p>\n
Its naval prowess and strategic location also will boost NATO\u2019s ability to deter any Russian aggression against Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were under Moscow\u2019s rule from the end of World War II until the Soviet Union fell apart in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
Before the Nordic countries\u2019 accession, the three countries\u2019 defenses mostly hinged on a 100-kilometer (62-mile) wide passage called the Suwalki Gap between Russian ally Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad \u2014 a strip of land NATO allies would have to pass through to reinforce the Baltics in a conflict.<\/p>\n
Sweden is joining NATO at a time when the alliance is grappling with growing uncertainty about the United States’ commitment to European security. Donald Trump, who may return to the White House if he wins the elections in November, has suggested letting Russia attack members that don\u2019t meet NATO\u2019s spending goal. Even the current administration under President Joe Biden is facing difficulties passing aid for Ukraine\u2019s defense against Russia, and the U.S. has in recent years been shifting its focus away from Europe toward Asia, amid China\u2019s rising might.<\/p>\n
Sweden\u2019s last major war was more than 200 years ago, when it lost what is now Finland to Russia in 1809. After avoiding two world wars and seeing its main adversary in Moscow collapse in the early 1990s, the Nordic country had made plans for another peaceful century. That approach was upended in February 2022, and along with NATO membership, Sweden is seeking to quickly rebuild its armed forces to face the growing threat.<\/p>\n
General conscription was reintroduced in the wake of Russia\u2019s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, and the country expects to reach NATO\u2019s threshold for military outlays, at least 2% of gross domestic product, this year. That share is set to continue expanding, along with investments that are needed to prepare Swedish infrastructure for allied forces to traverse its territory.<\/p>\n
When Sweden and Finland sought membership, Russia warned of \u201cserious military and political consequences\u201d that would require it to respond. <\/p>\n
Asked about the potential for such a move now, Kristersson said there\u2019s no knowing what Moscow will come up with. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we see constantly is disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, that sort of thing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
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(Natalia Drozdiak, Zoltan Simon, Andras Gergely, Jeremy Diamond and Chris Miller contributed to this story.)<\/p>\n
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