Turkish MPs to start discussing Sweden’s NATO bid

The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee is scheduled to debate Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Thursday.

That brings Sweden’s application a step closer toward ratification by the full assembly — needed before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan can sign it into law.

The agenda of the parliamentary committee was first reported by Reuters.

Sweden’s application to join the alliance has stalled thanks to accusations by Turkey that it is not doing enough to curb what it calls Kurdish terrorists in Sweden.

Turkey’s latest move leaves Hungary as the only NATO country where parliamentary ratification hasn’t begun.

Last week, Hungary’s President Katalin Novák called on the Budapest parliament to “take a quick and wise decision about Sweden’s NATO accession” during a visit to the alliance’s headquarters.

“I am fully supportive for Sweden’s accession and what I can tell you and promise you also that I will do my utmost in order to reach a quick decision in Hungary,” she said. “I am trying to convince the Hungarian parliamentarians but it might not be enough.”

Hungarian Prime Minster Viktor Orbán hasn’t shown any inclination to speed up work on the application.