Sweden tightens anti-terror laws while Finland publicly declares its support for NATO’s request

The Swedish government says it will further tighten its anti-terror laws to ban more activities related to militant Kurdish groups, hoping to convince Ankara to drop its objections to Sweden’s NATO membership.

Stockholm had already amended its constitution in November to pave the way for the legislative changes, which had been underway for several years.

“It is a broader criminalization, targeting a large number of activities within a terrorist organization that are not concretely related to a particular terrorist crime,” Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said at a press conference.

Under the new bill, acts such as handling equipment, organizing gatherings or meetings, cooking or arranging transportation for organizations designated as terrorists would be criminalized. The government plans to put the bill to a vote in parliament in March, so that it can be implemented from June.

Meanwhile Finnish prime minister Sanne Marine was in Stockholm on Thursday to meet with her Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson, in another public show of solidarity between the Nordic nations.

Marin told reporters that Finland wanted to move forward with Sweden in the accession process and was confident that the problems with Turkey would be solved by the time of the next NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

“It is very important that we send a clear message today. Finland and Sweden have applied together and it is in everyone’s interest that we join,” said Marin.

“I don’t like this view that presents Sweden as the tough kid in the class,” Marin said, adding that Sweden already meets all the membership criteria to join NATO.

Prime Minister Kristersson said he appreciated the “very clear messages” from Marin and the Finnish president Sauli Niinistö about the subject.

What does Turkish President Erdogan want?

Of the 30 NATO members, only the parliaments of Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified accession for Sweden and Finland, concerned about their security after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey is increasingly demanding action from Sweden, particularly against Kurdish groups it considers “terrorist organisations”, including members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and related groups in Syria.

Regular pro-Kurdish rallies in Sweden, where PKK flags are often raised, have been particularly irksome; but Sweden has also refused to extradite dozens of suspects Ankara has linked to banned Kurdish fighters and a failed coup attempt in 2016.

According to the new Swedish anti-terror law, participation in a demonstration or meeting of an organization that is considered to be terrorist is not in itself a criminal offence. Waving a flag would not be a criminal offense in itself, but could potentially be used as evidence in court, authorities say.

Turkey had also reacted furiously to a decision by Swedish police to allow a protest earlier in January in which a far-right extremist burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.

It is also outraged by a Swedish prosecutor’s decision not to press charges against a pro-Kurdish group that hung an effigy of Erdogan on his ankles outside the Stockholm court.

Following those incidents, Ankara last week suspended the two countries’ accession negotiations, but hinted that Finland’s bid could be ratified, while Sweden’s could be put on hold.

Poll: Small majority of Finns want to continue without Sweden

Meanwhile, a new poll shows that a majority of Finns are in favor of their country joining NATO without waiting for Finland.

The survey by the Finnish daily Ilta-Sanomat found that 53% of respondents believe that Finland should not “wait for Sweden” in the NATO accession process, even if ratification takes longer due to Turkey’s opposition, for example.

Only 28% thought the country should wait to join the military alliance with Sweden. Researchers asked 1,021 Finns between January 30 and February 1.

The two countries jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even though they had been closely linked to the 30-member military alliance for decades.