By Chris King • Updated: 14 Nov 2023 • 19:03 • 1 minute read
Image of Swedish, Turkish, Finnish and NATO flags. Credit: Andrzej Rostek/Shutterstock.com
THE Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee will discuss a draft law to authorise Sweden’s NATO application on Thursday, November 16.
According to Reuters, the Swedish NATO application is third on the official agenda when the Turkish Foreign Affairs Committee meets at 1 pm local time.
Speaking to journalists as he left an EU meeting in Brussels this Tuesday, November 14, Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Defence Minister commented: ‘Of course we welcome this. It is in line with the agreement that we reached with Turkey in July that ratification should be done as soon as possible. We need to become members as soon as possible’, reported TT.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reported as saying he would like to take a positive message with him to Berlin on Friday when he meets the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to TT sources.
The proposal was submitted to parliament by Erdogan around three weeks ago. It must first pass the foreign affairs committee before it can be voted on by the full General Assembly, but Mr Erdogan has said he will then accept the parliament’s decision.
A vote in the main chamber of the Turkish parliament and the signature of the president would still be needed. Should the application be approved then it would leave Hungary as the only other country to not yet ratify it.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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