Sweden set to become 32nd member of NATO, Türkiye requests resumption of EU membership talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave the go-ahead in Sweden’s membership talks, as publicized by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg, in a press conference after the meeting, said: “I'm glad to announce that President Erdoğan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and work closely with the Assembly to ensure ratification."

Leaders of NATO, Türkiye, and Sweden had come together for a summit a couple of days ago.

President Erdoğan met the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, where he emphasized membership once again.

After the meeting, Michel commented on Twitter that the two leaders “Explored opportunities ahead to bring EU-TR cooperation back to the forefront & re-energize our relations.”

Türkiye's steps on Sweden and migration will be closely watched by the world in the next NATO summitReview

President Erdoğan stated that Sweden’s membership process would pass on to the Parliament in the meeting.

The Hungarian side also declared that Stockholm’s application would not be blocked anymore, as Budapest had promised “not to be the last country” to approve of Sweden’s bid.

Before leaving for Vilnius, President Erdoğan held a press conference at the Atatürk Airport, where he said, “Open our way to the EU first; then we will do unto Sweden as we have done to Finland.”

He also indicated that NATO’s efforts to fight against terrorism and the renewal of the commitment to a minimum of 2 percent defense spending would be discussed in the Vilnius meeting.

Experts expressed that President Erdoğan’s move had taken the Alliance by surprise.

Sweden takes steps for NATO approval from TürkiyeReview

Malena Britz, Associate Professor in Political Science at the Swedish Defence University, spoke to the Swedish public broadcaster SVT, carried by The Local SE.

Britz said, “I think both the member states and Stoltenberg had expected this to be about Nato and not about what the EU is getting up to. That's not something NATO even has any control over.”

The Local cited political analyst Aras Lindh as having said that EU member NATO countries were unprepared for this question.

TÜRKİYE’S WAY INTO THE EU

President Erdoğan’s statement shows Ankara’s position clearly: Türkiye wants to see tangible developments in membership talks to let Sweden into the Alliance.

According to BBC, Stockholm agreed to support Türkiye’s EU bid, as per the 7-article joint declaration published after the leaders’ meeting.

The sixth article of the declaration states, "Sweden will actively contribute to efforts to revitalize Turkey's EU accession process, including the updating of the Customs Union and visa liberalization."

However, according to Sözcü, EU officials dismissed Türkiye’s membership question and reiterated that NATO and EU are two different institutions and the two issues could not be linked together.

Dana Spinant, a deputy spokesperson for the EC, stated that the EU’s enlargement process is multi-layered with defined steps.

She added, “These two processes cannot be linked together.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made similar remarks on the irrelevance of NATO and EU membership processes.

International relations expert Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hakan Güneş spoke to duvaR’s Nergis Kalkan, saying that it is unlikely for both parties to achieve their goals.

Güneş said, “Neither Türkiye nor the EU looks like they intend to make the necessary moves for full membership. The EU has not been close to an enlargement that includes Türkiye in the last decade. Very few countries within the EU would approve of this.”

Even though Sweden promises to support Türkiye’s EU bid, it is highly unlikely that the rest of the member states will evaluate Ankara’s membership process in a positive light.

According to the retired ambassador Hakan Okçal, Ankara-Brussels relations have been strained for quite some time.

Türkiye’s current problems, mainly migration and inflation crises alongside the issues in bilateral relations, will possibly thwart the accession talks.

Mansur Ali Bilgiç - 11/7/2023

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