Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that her party is supporting the country to apply for NATO membership.
“We Social Democrats believe that the best thing for Sweden and the security of the Swedish people is for us to join NATO. This is a decision we have made after very careful consideration,” Andersson said at a news conference on Sunday.
Andersson noted that this decision reverses a stance the country has taken for 200 years, leaving “a political line of security policy that we’ve had in various shapes and forms.”
“For us Social Democrats, the military non-alliance policy has served us well. But our analysis shows that it will not serve us so well in the future,” Andersson said. “This is not a decision we have taken lightly.”
The prime minister said the country needs to “adapt to reality” and make decisions based on the current climate.
“It is very clear that there is a before and after February 24, 2022. Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people are living in a new, dangerous reality. The European security order on which Sweden has based its security policy for centuries is now under attack,” Andersson said. .
This expected announcement comes after Finland announced on Sunday its decision to apply to join NATO, after both countries previously renounced for historical and geopolitical reasons.
Earlier on Sunday, the Swedish Social Democratic Party had released a statement on its website saying it has decided the country should work on a Swedish application to join NATO.
The statement continues to say that, in the event that the application is granted by NATO, the party must work to establish unilateral conditions against the placement of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde called it “an historic decision” in a tweet†
Earlier Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “NATO’s door is open” to Sweden and Finland.
