Sweden’s Government Party decides on NATO membership on 15 May | NATO Review
An application to join NATO can be made at the Alliance’s summit in June in Madrid and is likely to be quickly tracked.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats will decide on May 15 whether to overthrow decades of opposition to NATO membership, according to the party.
Monday’s announcement came more than two months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which triggered an urgent reassessment of security policy in Sweden and Finland.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is expected to announce his support for an application this week.
Niinisto’s announcement, on May 12, would trigger what will likely be a few hectic weeks during which the map of northern Europe’s security architecture could be redrawn.
In Sweden, the Social Democrats’ party secretary Tobias Baudin tells Sweden’s public service radio SR that the decision has not yet been made.
“Our message is that on May 15, there will be a decision for the party leadership to decide,” he said on Monday.
The decision process
The Social Democrats – the largest party in Sweden for the past 100 years – are holding three digital party meetings this week to take part in members’ views on NATO membership ahead of the final decision by the leadership this weekend.
At the same time, Parliament is holding a parallel review of the security policies of all parties, to be reported on 13 May.
– I want it on the table before I make a decision, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in a debate on NATO on Swedish TV on Sunday.
A formal application to join NATO could be made at the Alliance’s summit in Madrid in June and is likely to be quickly tracked down, although it could take up to a year to get signatures from all 30 alliance members.
Changing preference
Military freedom of alliance has long been a political cornerstone for many Swedes, and while support for NATO membership has risen sharply – most surveys in recent months have shown a clear majority for – many are still insecure.
A decision to apply for membership in NATO would surely anger Moscow, which has threatened to station nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, across the sea from Sweden.
The Left and Green parties have rejected demands for membership, while the rest of the opposition wants to move on.
Ask Ukraine if they would have preferred to join NATO, said Ulf Kristersson, the leader of the Moderates, the largest opposition party, during the NATO debate.
“We must seek common protection together with other democracies and stand up for our common values.”