In Sweden and Finland, the respective parliaments meet on Monday to debate whether the two Scandinavian countries should join NATO. The Social Democratic Party of Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson voted in a historic U-turn on Sunday for the country to join the military alliance.
A decision on the government’s application for membership was possibly still expected on Monday after the debate in the Reichstag in Stockholm. With the approval of the Social Democrats, a broad majority is emerging there. However, the party had already made it clear that it would not support nuclear weapons or a permanent NATO base on its country’s territory.
The Finnish government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin is already one step further. Marin agreed with President Sauli Niinistö to submit an application, as the two politicians announced in Helsinki on Sunday. Approval in Finland’s parliament is assured after Marin’s Social Democratic Party voted in favor of the move on Saturday. According to observers, the debate could drag on for several days.
