Sweden Joining NATO Contributes to Euro-Atlantic Security, Said 62.51%

Hungary approved Sweden’s NATO membership after two years of negotiations, following recent discussions on defense cooperation. Sweden claims it will help Euro-Atlantic security, while Russia has criticized Sweden’s departure from neutrality.

The online survey app Real Research gathered the public’s opinion on this topic, and here are the results.

Highlights:

• Sweden’s NATO membership would contribute to Euro-Atlantic security, said 62.51%.
• 40.16% believe Russia’s opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership is justified.
• 42.12% claimed that Hungary delayed the approval due to Sweden’s criticism of Hungary’s democracy.

Survey on Sweden Joining NATO After Hungary Approves Accession

Hungary’s parliament approved Sweden’s bid to join the collective defense alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after two years of negotiations. 55% were aware of this, 32.68% were vaguely aware, and 12.32% didn’t know anything about it.

The Swedish prime minister believes that joining NATO will enable Sweden to contribute to Euro-Atlantic security. The majority (62.51%) agree with this statement. In detail, 36.26% somewhat agree, 27.7% somewhat disagree, 26.25% strongly agree, and 9.76% strongly disagree.

Russia’s Opposition to Sweden’s NATO Membership

Sweden’s NATO membership application was due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports. The reports claimed that the invasion prompted Sweden to shift its long-held defense policies, leading it to apply to join NATO in May 2022.

Russia reacted negatively to Sweden’s decision to abandon its non-alignment with military alliances, and 40.16% believe Russia’s opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership is justified. On the other hand, 31.96% weren’t sure about the claims, and 27.88% opposed.

The Swedish prime minister believes Russia’s attempts to limit NATO expansion have “backfired,”  saying, “As for Russia, the only thing we can safely expect is that they do not like Sweden becoming a NATO member.”

Sweden’s NATO membership might have a negative impact on its relations with Russia, according to 34.72%. However, 33.04% believed no significant impact would happen, and 32.24% saw that a positive impact was imminent.

Why Two Years Delay?

Hungary’s decision to approve Sweden’s NATO membership garnered a neutral reaction from the public (42.02%). On the other hand, 19.22% believed it was favorable, and 17.02% claimed it was unfavorable. The remaining opinions were highly unfavorable (15.44%) and highly favorable (6.3%).

Some observers claimed that Hungary delayed the approval due to Sweden’s criticism of the state of Hungarian democracy. An observation that 42.12% believe to be correct, 35.66% aren’t sure of, and 22.22% disagree with.

Turkey also didn’t approve of Sweden’s NATO membership at first and accused the country of being too lenient toward Kurdish opposition groups. However, Turkey approved it last month after Stockholm tightened its anti-terror legislation. According to 44.62%, Sweden’s domestic anti-terror law influenced Turkey’s decision in this case. 37.18% weren’t sure of it, and 18.2% didn’t believe there was a significant difference.