Swedish Parliament approves Kingdom’s accession to NATO

Zurich:  The members of the Riksdag, Sweden’s unicameral parliament, approved on Wednesday the accession of Sweden to NATO, the meeting is broadcast on the website of the parliament.

The approval of the Riksdag is a prerequisite for the Kingdom’s accession to NATO.

Earlier, the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs proposed to approve the country’s accession to NATO, as well as the agreement on the status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which regulates the issues of immunities and privileges for NATO and its employees. According to the report, the committee shares the position of the government of the country that “as in other countries of Northern Europe, there is no reason to place nuclear weapons or permanent bases on the territory of Sweden in peacetime.”

It was also reported that joining NATO would require amendments to the Act on Rapid Military Assistance and the Act on Immunities and Privileges in certain cases. The amendments will enter into force on a date to be set by the government.

On May 17, 2022, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership. Only two of the 30 NATO member states, Turkey and Hungary, have not yet ratified it. Budapest and Ankara have so far announced their readiness to ratify the Finnish application, but not the Swedish one.