The Turkish Parliament approved Sweden’s application for NATO membership on Tuesday, bringing the Nordic country one step closer to joining the defence alliance. The parliamentary vote marked the second step in the ratification process, which commenced with the approval of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs Committee last December. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan must sign the law to finalize the process.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. Finland joined NATO in April 2023, doubling the alliance’s border with Russia, but Sweden has faced numerous delays in its path to accession.

Türkiye has opposed Sweden’s accession to NATO for several reasons.

Specifically, Erdoğan has raised security concerns with Stockholm, as Türkiye believes the Nordic country has not done enough to combat terrorism and extremism, particularly against members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization in Türkiye. During the talks between Ankara and Stockholm, Sweden has witnessed several instances of anti-Islamic demonstrations, often involving Quran-burning. These events have frequently undermined the progress of the negotiations.

In addition to security concerns, Erdoğan has requested Sweden to lift restrictions on defence industrial exports imposed in 2019 following Türkiye’s intervention in Syria.

Moreover, Erdoğan has asked Washington to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye in connection with Sweden's accession to NATO. However, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin stated on Tuesday that Congress is waiting to see the accession documents completed before moving forward on the matter.

With the approval of the Turkish Parliament and the potential signature from Erdoğan,

only Hungary needs to ratify the Swedish application for Sweden to become a full member of NATO.

In recent months, government members and politicians from the ruling party have expressed their views on why Swedish NATO membership has not yet been put on the agenda. They claim that the biggest obstacle is the state of relations between the two countries and the outspoken anti-Hungarian statements made by Swedish politicians.

In March of last year, Balázs Orbán, the Prime Minister’s political director, compiled Swedish statements and actions questioning the state of Hungarian democracy in a post on the social media platform X. For instance, Ulf Kristersson, the then leader of the Moderate Party and now the prime minister, explicitly stated that the processes in Hungary must be restrained at the EU level. The Prime Minister has also been among the first to call for the exclusion of Fidesz from the European People's Party. Jessika Roswall, former EU spokeswoman for the Moderate Party and now EU affairs minister, has also joined him in lobbying Brussels to limit payments to Hungarians. Johan Pehrson, Minister of Employment, has repeatedly stated that Hungary is racist and xenophobic.

Relations were further strained by the production of an educational film by the Swedish public media, discrediting Hungary with false information and distortions in the lead-up to the 2019 European Parliament elections. The film featured, among others, left-wing political activist Márton Gulyás. The scandal surrounding the film peaked in September 2023 when Máté Kocsis, the leader of the Fidesz parliamentary group, stated: ‘We expect an explanation from the Swedes as to how they thought what they spread about Hungary in the film.’ He added that the Swedes had apparently decided not to join NATO.

Gergely Gulyás, the minister leading the Prime Minister’s Office, made similar remarks last week. ‘It seems that this is [the NATO-membership] not so important for the Swedes because they have not approached the government, and there is a need for contacts to strengthen trust,’ he underlined.

In an effort to strengthen relations, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán invited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest on Tuesday to deepen mutual trust.

The Swedish Foreign Ministry reacted promptly, rejecting the Hungarian invitation. ‘I see no reason to negotiate at this point,’ Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said succinctly. ‘What we hope, of course, is that Hungary will ratify membership as soon as possible,’ Billström added.

Viktor Orbán published another post on X on Wednesday, in which he stated that the Hungarian government continues to support Sweden’s accession to NATO. This announcement follows a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The prime minister emphasized, ‘I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian National Assembly to vote in favor of Sweden’s accession and conclude the ratification at the first possible opportunity.’

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