A new map showcasing the European countries in NATO following Sweden’s approval into the organisation after a tough two-year struggle.
On February 26, Hungary’s parliament finally ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, making them the 32nd member of the alliance after nearly two years of negotiations.
Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022, but new members require the approval of all existing members, and this made things tricky.
Over the next two years, Turkey and Hungary would both object to Sweden joining, going so far as to pause their application before eventually agreeing to support their bid.
Turkey accepted first, on December 26, 2023, with Hungary following suit months later on Monday.
See the map here
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Turkey originally objected as they believed Sweden to support Kurdish separatist groups and placing restrictions on weapons exports.
Hungary’s apprehension came from the right-wing nationalist Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who worried that accepting Sweden into NATO would damage his country’s relations with Russia.
Not only has Sweden waited for this moment for two years, but it has also stayed out of military alliances for over 200 years, changed only by the Russia-Ukraine war.
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Russia is a significant consideration for all NATO countries when accepting new members, and for countries wanting to join.
The country has opposed NATO’s expansion and threatened to responed if the alliance tried to establish military infrastructure in Sweden or Finland. Finland got accepted into NATO on April 4, 2023, and it also borders Russia, causing some concern.
NATO was originally formed as an attempt to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding, thereby deterring other countries in Europe to go down the same path of nationalist militarism, as well as strengthening diplomatic ties on the continent.
