Sweden's Parliament Approves NATO Membership Bill

Sweden's Parliament, the Riksdag, has today approved a bill that allows the country to join the NATO alliance. The bill received support from 269 lawmakers, including representatives from both the ruling coalition and opposition Social Democrats, as well as the right-wing populists from the Sweden Democrats party. Opposing the bill were 37 lawmakers from two leftist opposition parties.

The voting outcome was expected. Sweden began negotiations to join NATO last May following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, based on a consensus among the largest political forces. To date, 28 of NATO's 30 member countries have already ratified the agreement for Sweden's accession, with Hungary expected to do so in the near future; however, Turkey has yet to concede to Sweden's NATO membership.

Regardless, the parliamentary vote officially confirms the end of Sweden's era of neutrality, which lasted over 200 years, including during both World Wars and the Cold War. Sweden intends to join NATO alongside neighboring Finland, which has also abandoned its traditional neutrality following Russia's aggressive actions towards Ukraine.