France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said of the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, “The applications of Sweden and Finland should be ratified quickly.” Her statement comes as Hungary’s Parliament recently ratified Finland’s application and Barron’s reports that Turkey’s Parliament is scheduled to vote on Finland’s admission on Thursday. The report says that after months of negotiations, ratifications are all but certain as even opposition lawmakers support Finland’s application. Sweden’s application however remains uncertain, as Hungary claims that some Swedish lawmakers have made disparaging remarks about Hungary’s democracy and influenced the freezing of billions of euros from the EU. Turkey meanwhile claims that Sweden harbors groups which it considers terrorist organizations. Fox News reports that Russia issued a statement that Sweden would become a “legitimate target” if it joined NATO.
