Marks Sweden's accession to NATO

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hold a joint press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, before raising the Swedish flag outside.

Swedish Crown Princess Victoria is also participating in the celebration, arriving in a black car just after 11 a.m.

“This is a historic day,” Stoltenberg begins.

He believes that Sweden's accession is good for Sweden, for the stability of the northern regions and for the security of the entire alliance.

The Secretary-General confirms that, over the past two years, NATO has done the opposite of what Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted when he launched his comprehensive invasion of Ukraine: the alliance has expanded.

“NATO is bigger and stronger, Ukraine is closer to membership than ever before, and we stand with them,” Stoltenberg said.

The Swedish Prime Minister begins his speech by thanking the Secretary-General for his efforts and the Member States for approving them.

“We're humbled, but we're also proud,” Christerson says.

It is also stated that the establishment has the support of both the National Assembly and the population.

A recent poll was conducted on behalf of Swedish Radio It shows that nearly eight in ten believe Sweden would be safer as a NATO member. Meanwhile, more than half of respondents believe the country had to sacrifice a lot to become a member.

Among other things, Sweden changed terrorism legislation that opened the door to arms sales to Turkey as a result of demands from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

– The security situation in our region has not been this dangerous since World War II. Russia will continue to pose a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for the foreseeable future. With this background, we applied for membership, to have security, but also to provide security, says Christerson.