Sweden formally announces decision to seek NATO membership
By Christina Anderson
BASTAD, Sweden — Sweden on Monday (16) formally announced its decision to seek NATO membership, upending 200 years of neutrality and nonalignment and joining Finland in what could be the largest expansion of the military alliance in decades.
The move, announced by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson at a news conference in Stockholm, underscored how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has radically altered Europe’s security calculus.
“We are leaving one era and moving into another,” Andersson said at the news conference, where she was joined by Ulf Kristersson, the leader of Sweden’s opposition Moderate Party. “To remain outside of NATO alone, would put Sweden in a very vulnerable position. So the best thing for Sweden’s security and the Swedish people’s security is that we join NATO together with Finland.”
She said the government had decided to apply after a parliamentary debate Monday showed broad support for accession.
The debate was a formality, after Sweden’s governing party said it supported joining the alliance, following on the Finnish government’s announcement that it would pursue NATO membership. But six of eight political parties were in favour of joining the alliance, underscoring unity in a country where the question of abandoning Sweden’s neutrality has been contentious in the past.
Andersson had ruled out NATO membership for Sweden as late as March 8, after the Russian invasion. But by mid-April, her position had evolved.
Sentiment in Finland, having fought two wars against the Soviet Union, has also swung massively in the past six months in favour of joining NATO.
Acceptance of Finland and Sweden by NATO’s 30 members is widely expected, and NATO leaders have said they would accelerate the membership bids.
-New York Times