Finland and Sweden took the first formal step on the way to NATO on Tuesday.

The ambassadors of the thirty member states signed the accession protocols of both states.

This gives them the status of “invitees”, they can take part in all meetings of the alliance, albeit without voting rights.

In the meantime, the ratification of the protocols can begin in the member states.

Several Member States want to do this at record speed.

The Bundestag and Bundesrat should complete the ratification this Friday.

One country, however, is in no hurry at all - Turkey.

Thomas Gutschker

Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.

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At last week's NATO summit in Madrid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdrew his veto against the opening of the ratification process.

But he announced that he would only forward the minutes to Parliament once both countries had fulfilled their "promises".

He wasn't just referring to a jointly negotiated memorandum in which both countries pledged to revise their arms export control restrictions, step up the fight against terrorist groups like the PKK and improve cooperation with the Turkish judiciary.

Rather, Erdogan claimed that Sweden had also made a political commitment to hand over 73 terrorist suspects to Turkey.

The Swedish foreign minister rejected this on Tuesday: "During our negotiations in Madrid, no specific figures or lists were mentioned," said Ann Linde at NATO headquarters.

The government has not yet received a list from Turkey;

however, the responsible authorities would repeatedly receive requests for extradition and expulsion.

These would be treated in the usual legal way, in the end the highest court would decide.

There will now only be closer cooperation with the Turkish authorities in order to get information more quickly.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto also said that everything that was agreed upon in Madrid was contained in the memorandum.

"There are no other classified documents."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who mediated between the conflicting parties, left it at generalities that could not be interpreted in either direction.

The message that it was a "historic day for Finland, for Sweden, for NATO and for Euro-Atlantic security" was particularly important to him.

However, in view of the incompatible statements made by those involved, it is unclear when the second step of enlargement will follow, ratification of the accession by all member states, with which those invited will only become members.

Since Erdogan rubs shoulders with Sweden in particular, it is even conceivable that he will thwart the finely synchronized process - and initially only let Finland pass.