Sweden's entry into NATO

After almost two years of obstructionism, on Monday 26/02 the Hungarian parliament finally ratified Sweden's accession protocol to NATO, the military alliance that includes most Western countries. Hungary was the only NATO country that had not yet ratified Sweden's membership, and today's vote will allow the country to become a full member of the alliance, the thirty-second. This is a very important development: until a few years ago, Sweden, together with Finland, had always maintained a policy of neutrality between the Western bloc and that of the former Soviet Union, but things changed with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which made the risk of military aggression much more concrete and tangible.

There are still some steps missing to make Sweden's entry into NATO effective. The accession protocol will have to be signed by the interim Hungarian president, László Kövér (former president Katalin Novàk has just resigned), at which point NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will formally invite Sweden to join the alliance. The agreement will then be deposited at the headquarters of the United States Department of State, formalizing the entry of the new member country into the alliance.