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NATO

Turkey moves closer to ratification of Swedish Nato application

Turkey' foreign policy committee will vote on Thursday on whether to approve Sweden’s Nato application, it said in an update posted on its website, moving Sweden's membership one step closer to ratification.

Turkey moves closer to ratification of Swedish Nato application
Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson speaking to reporters in Brussels. Photo: Wiktor Nummelin/TT

“Obviously, we welcome this news,” Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson told reporters on Tuesday. “It is in line with the agreement we had with Turkey in July that ratification would occur as soon as possible. We need to become members as soon as we can.”

A source speaking to TT newswire said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be in Berlin on Friday and was hoping to have positive news for German chancellor Olof Scholz.

If there are no delays to the process, the Turkish parliament could ratify Sweden’s application next week, on the 20th or 21st of November.

After parliament’s decision, Erdogan will have to formally approve ratification before the document can be sent to Washington.

Hungary and Turkey are the only Nato countries left which need to approve Sweden’s application, and Hungarian president Viktor Orbán has pledged previously that his country will not be the last to ratify.

If Turkey ratifies next week and Orbán keeps his promise, Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström would be able to participate in Nato’s next meeting in Brussels on November 28th as a full member.

Hungarian minister Gergely Gulyás recently demanded that Sweden explain comments made by Swedish politicians about the state of Hungarian democracy, although the country has not formally said it will delay Sweden’s application further.

“We didn’t discuss it today, but the message has always been the same: that Hungary will not be the last country to ratify Sweden’s application,” Jonson said.

It is now a year and a half since Sweden applied for Nato membership.

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SWEDEN AND GERMANY

What’s on the agenda for German chancellor’s visit to Sweden?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Sweden to discuss security and business competitiveness with his Nordic colleagues on a two-day visit.

What's on the agenda for German chancellor's visit to Sweden?

Scholz was to visit the Stockholm headquarters of telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday, accompanied by the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They were to “discuss security policy issues such as hybrid threats, civil preparedness and new technologies,” the Swedish government said in a statement.

A press conference was to follow just before 6pm.

“At a dinner that evening, discussions will centre on continued support to Ukraine,” the government said, as Russian troops launched a major ground operation against Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region amid Kyiv’s struggles with Western aid delays.

The Nordic countries and Germany have been among Ukraine’s biggest donors since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Berlin is the world’s second biggest donor to Ukraine, giving 14.5 billion euros so far, according to the Kiel Institute.

“Security policy and the upcoming Nato summit will top the agenda,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in a piece published in financial daily Dagens Industri on Monday.

“Financial competitiveness issues” will also be discussed, he said, noting that “the Nordic region wants to play a key role in efforts to strengthen the European economy”.

On Tuesday, Kristersson and Scholz were scheduled to hold bilateral talks and visit the Norrsken Foundation, which supports young growth companies active in the green and digital transition.

Afterwards the two leaders were to sign a “strategic innovation partnership” between Germany and Sweden.

The visit was to be their first bilateral meeting since Sweden joined Nato in March 2024.

The next Nato summit will take place July 9th-11th in Washington.

“Sweden has, and must have, a clear international voice in the world,” Kristersson wrote in Dagens Industri.

The Scandinavian country has enjoyed decades of strong cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries, and with intensified collaboration “with two other Baltic Sea countries, Poland and Germany, our region will be safer and stronger”, he said.

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