Sweden is set to pass a new anti-terror law on Tuesday in a bid to gain NATO membership, but tensions with Turkey have obstructed the process. If the law is passed, it will come into effect on

June 1 and will target the financing, aiding, and propagation of terrorist groups. It will also penalize individuals who travel abroad to join or assist terrorist groups.

Turkey has been demanding that Sweden take concrete actions to combat terrorist groups PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group responsible for the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey. While Sweden passed an anti-terror law last November in hopes of appeasing Turkey, the country deemed it insufficient and believes that nothing much has been done to stop the activities of terrorist groups.

The talks between the two countries are set to restart with a foreign ministerial-level meeting in Brussels on Thursday. Sweden has reiterated its determination to take the necessary steps under a trilateral memorandum signed in June by Sweden, Finland, and Turkey during a NATO Summit held in Madrid.

However, recent anti-Turkey and anti-Islam protests in Stockholm have led to tensions between the two countries. Turkey postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland over the Nordic countries' NATO bid after a Danish far-right politician was allowed to burn a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 21.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has acknowledged that Sweden has changed its laws on terrorism and has pledged to pass a new bill. However, he insists that Turkey demands concrete action from Sweden. Turkey has frequently voiced that it does not oppose NATO enlargement but criticizes Stockholm for not acting against elements posing a security threat to Ankara.

Last June, Turkey and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance. However, the recent provocative demonstrations by terrorist sympathizers and Islamophobic figures in Stockholm have led Turkish leaders to question Sweden’s commitment to take the necessary steps to gain NATO membership.

All NATO members, except Turkey and Hungary, have ratified their accession, but unanimity is required. Sweden and neighboring Finland abandoned decades of non-alignment and applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the trilateral deal signed by the three countries ahead of a historic NATO summit, Sweden and Finland agreed to address Turkey’s extradition requests for terrorists. In addition, the joint directive states that they “will not provide support to ... the organization described as FETÖ and terrorist groups.” Photo by sati8335, Wikimedia commons.