NATO membership “days” away

Published 6 March 2024 at 08.09

Domestic. The Swedish government hopes that the last steps in the NATO process can be completed in a few days.

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After the Hungarian president on Tuesday signed Sweden's NATO application remains only a few formal steps.

Hungary will soon send the accession protocol to the US State Department, which will approve it and sign it to NATO's Secretary General.

These last steps are assessed however, can be dealt with quickly.

– My assessment is that it is a matter of days rather than weeks, says Defense Minister Pål Jonsson (M) to Sveriges Radio.

During Tuesday, Pål Jonson received his German minister colleague Boris Pistorius in Stockholm. During the visit, the defense ministers signed a joint declaration of intent on deepened cooperation between Sweden and Germany.

– This visit is an important step for Sweden and Germany to further develop the cooperation. When both Sweden and Germany are NATO members, there will be increased opportunities for cooperation. This applies not least to cooperation regarding security in the Baltic Sea region, says Pål Jonson.

Sweden and Germany already have a declaration of intent that was entered into in 2017. This has now been updated in the light of Sweden's upcoming membership in NATO and with the aim of deepening and increase cooperation. The declaration of intent means that the armed forces and other defense authorities of both countries can work to further develop existing cooperation and promote new initiatives.