

Swedish Parliament Pushes On With NATO Accession
The Swedish Parliament voted to proceed with NATO membership—but Hungary has now revealed plans to, like Turkey, ratify Finland’s accession ahead of, and separate from, Sweden’s.
The Swedish Parliament voted to proceed with NATO membership—but Hungary has now revealed plans to, like Turkey, ratify Finland’s accession ahead of, and separate from, Sweden’s.
Ratification is expected before the Turkish parliament goes into recess in mid-April, bringing Finland one step closer to NATO membership.
After meeting the Finnish President, Erdoğan will likely ratify Finland’s application within a month. Sweden, however, will probably have to wait until after May’s elections.
In the wake of February’s devastating earthquake, the Turkish president promised an ambitious reconstruction program in a bid to keep voters on his side.
Amid fears of a fresh migration surge, a series of events in Greece this week indicate that Europe’s tough turn on border control will continue.
The U.S. secretary of state urged Greece and Turkey “to not take any unilateral actions or use any charged rhetoric that would only make things more difficult and more challenging.”
A Swedish police decision to ban Quran burnings is unlikely to stand legally, exposing contradictions between Turkish demands and Sweden’s rule of law.
Orhan Pamuk is a masterful writer. His books all open in such a way that you know they are going to be hard to put down.
The Swedish Security Service cited the January 21st burning of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm as a major catalyst.
The EU’s Civil Protection mechanism has been activated and European rescue teams are on their way to the affected areas.