– Historical, according to both Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Crown Princess Victoria officially represents Sweden with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the flag ceremony.
It is Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who, on behalf of NATO, welcomes the Swedes and officially declares Sweden a member of the defense alliance.
– Stoltenberg said on Monday morning that Sweden is taking its rightful place among 32 allies.
On Thursday afternoon, all formalities were completed.
On Monday, Kristersson escorted all party leaders from the Swedish Parliament to Brussels for the flag-raising ceremony, which was held while a military orchestra played the national anthem “Do Gamla, Do Fria, and the NATO anthem.”
Meanwhile, the Swedish flag is raised outside all other NATO bases in the entire alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Sweden as the alliance's 32nd member state:
– This is a historic day. We will raise the flag to welcome Sweden as the 32nd member state of NATO. Sweden has been a partner for a long time, and now you are an ally, Stoltenberg said.
The NATO Secretary General emphasized that the principle of “one for all, all for one” now also applies to the Swedes.
Christerson: – Proud member
Sweden has great military capabilities that it contributes to NATO. The NATO Secretary General explained that Sweden also spends more than 2% of its gross domestic product on defense.
Putin wanted a smaller NATO. And now he's getting a bigger one. He made a big mistake. “We have to show Putin that he cannot have his way on the battlefield, but must come to the negotiating table,” Stoltenberg said.
Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, said:
Sweden is now part of NATO and is a proud member with our closest friends and partners.
He thanked Stoltenberg for his support, and said that Sweden would not have become a member without the Norwegian Secretary-General.
-We are humble, but also proud. We have high expectations of ourselves in NATO. Unity and solidarity will be Sweden's slogan in NATO. “We get security, but we also want to provide security for the alliance,” Christerson said.
The Swedish Prime Minister said that they had been preparing for this for a long time.
Our country has long been a champion of freedom and democracy. When our flag is raised here, we become part of a larger coalition defending these rights.
There is no threat to NATO countries
Stoltenberg said this is also a great day for him as a Norwegian.
– When I started working at NATO in 2014, I knew that someone would apply for NATO membership, but I did not expect that Sweden and Finland would join during my time as Secretary-General. When they decided to apply, they received great support from their residents. They also received widespread support in NATO.
– We do not see any immediate military threat to any NATO member state now.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Secretary-General says this is not only a big day for Sweden, but also for the Nordic region:
“It is the first time since the Kalmar Union in the 15th century that we are allied with each other,” he said in Norwegian, after answering the press in English.
Nuclear weapons are not allowed
Kristersson confirmed that there are no plans to deploy foreign NATO forces on Swedish territory, nor to deploy nuclear weapons in Sweden. He says this is a Swedish decision.
Norway has taken the same reservation in the past.
According to Stoltenberg, it is entirely up to each individual member state to decide whether it wants to accept permanent military forces from other NATO countries, and he stresses that there are no such plans for Sweden.
– This is a day of joy, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Ede (AFP) told VG on Thursday afternoon.
He continued:
– This means a huge amount. The relationship with Sweden is of course good, but it is clear that when it becomes an ally, it removes all the last obstacles to the Nordic countries also being able to establish broad defense cooperation.
As of Thursday last week, Sweden is covered by NATO's defense guarantee, indicating that an attack on Sweden is an attack on the entire alliance.
Hungary was the last country to withdraw from Sweden's application for membership.
US President Joe Biden confirmed on Thursday that Sweden became a member on March 7.
Sweden is a strong democracy with a highly capable military that shares our values and worldview, the White House wrote in a press release.
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