“A historic day.” The NATO decision that will be remembered as one of Putin’s great political failuresBy Luisa Corradini

PARIS.– The Parliament of Hungary voted this Monday in favor of Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), ending an endless wait that paved the way for a historic expansion of the military alliance and an uncomfortable tug-of-war between its members. The entry of the Nordic country into the organization, after 200 years of neutrality, will go down in history as one of Vladimir Putin’s great political failures.

Following Turkey’s approval in January, Hungary was the last country to block Sweden’s membership in NATO. The vote by Hungarian deputies will allow that country to become its 32nd member.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, left, and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban pose at the Carmelite Monastery in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Denes Erdos – AP

But we had to wait 21 months. Twenty-one months of hard negotiations, threats and promises – accompanied by numerous genuflections – to reach this epilogue: the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies adopted by 188 votes in favor to six, the protocol for Sweden’s accession to NATO. That vote lifted the last obstacle to a process that began immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 22.

Along this road full of obstacles, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, He had stated that his country would not be the last to ratify the Swedish candidacy. A commitment not respected because, even after Turkey lifted its veto at the end of January, it was necessary for the Swedish premier, Ulf Kristerssontraveled to Budapest last Friday so that Hungarian deputies could finally vote.

During that visit, the two heads of government signed a cooperation agreement that includes the purchase by Budapest of four Swedish combat aircraft, plus 14 Gripen that Hungary already rents from the Swedish manufacturer Saab, becoming the owner from 2026. Evoking “trust regained” between both countries, Orban declared that there was no longer anything against Sweden joining NATO. A perspective that two years ago seemed excluded.

“Our military non-alignment is useful to us and contributes to the stability and security of Northern Europe,” said the Swedish Social Democratic Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde, before the deputies, summarizing what the majority of the Chamber thought. Sweden had not known war for two centuries. There were almost two centuries of official neutrality – inherited from the end of the Napoleonic wars – especially during the two world wars. The country had partly abandoned its neutrality by participating in military missions in Afghanistan or more recently in Mali and even signing an association agreement with NATO in 2016. But it has not been at war since 1814, after a conflict with Norway, and adhering to the Atlantic alliance was not on the agenda.

In a famous speech given at the congress of the Social Democratic Party in November 2021, the Minister of Defense, Peter Hultqvist, had assured that as long as his party was in the government “there will be no application for membership.” On March 8, two weeks after the war against Ukraine began, the prime minister Magdalena Andersson maintained that line, estimating that it was ““It is preferable to keep your cool, your feet on the ground and execute a predictable and long-term security policy.”

But the Swedes had to quickly surrender to the evidence: Their Finnish neighbors seemed determined to join NATO, while they ran the risk of being isolated. Then everything accelerated: within a few weeks, the Social Democrats as well as the far-right Sweden Democrats changed their position, allowing the government to present the official candidacy for the Alliance at the same time as Finland, on May 18, 2022. .

The “suite” process should have been a formality since, according to Helsinki and Stockholm, all 30 NATO member states had expressed their support for both Nordic countries. But that was without taking into account the maneuvers of Orban and the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ankara’s opposition was serious. Erdogan accused both countries of harboring “terrorist organizations” and demanded the extradition of several dozen Kurds and Turks who reside mainly in Sweden. In June 2022, before the NATO summit in Madrid, both Nordic governments signed a memorandum with Turkey committing to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and lifting the arms embargo imposed on Ankara. In exchange, Erdogan agreed that Sweden and Finland would obtain the status of “guest countries.”

However, Erdogan maintained the pressure for another year and a half, until giving his final agreement for Finland’s accession, in March 2023. Then we had to wait until October 23 for him to transmit Sweden’s accession protocol to Parliament. Turkish, a vote that was finally held on January 23, three days before the US government approved the sale of F16 aircraft to Turkey.

All that was left was to obtain the green light from Hungary. On Monday, Orban –whose favorite pastime is playing at destabilizing the Western countryside to ingratiate himself with his great friend Vladimir Putin and who reproached Stockholm for spreading “lies” about his country. He confirmed that Sweden’s integration into NATO “reinforced Hungary’s security”, at the same time reproaching “other countries for having tried to interfere” in the Hungarian decision.

Former Finnish and Swedish prime ministers Sanna Marin and Magdalena Andersson promoted the processes for their countries to join NATO after Russia’s invasion of UkraineInstagram Sanna Marin

In Sweden, the prime minister greeted “a historic day”, ensuring that his country is “willing to assume its responsibilities in matters of Euro-Atlantic security”. Stockholm should be officially invited to join NATO in the coming days.

This accession will represent for Vladimir Putin – among many others – a resounding strategic defeat. Taking into account that one of its excuses for launching its war against Ukraine was to stop the advance of NATO, it has not only achieved its expansion but also managed, in the case of Sweden, to end 200 years of neutrality.

Luisa Corradini

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