"Sweden's prime minister Magdalena Andersson is understood to be eager for the country to join the trans-Atlantic alliance by June," The Daily Mail reports Wednesday. "The application is expected to be submitted at the NATO meeting in Madrid on June 29-20, Swedish reports say."

"Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's goal is for Sweden to join NATO in June this year, sources tell SvD. The information comes in parallel with Finland today presenting its new security policy analysis and the Swedish Social Democrats drawing up the plan to deal with the issue internally," Stockholm-based daily Svenska Dagbladet reports.

This marks a complete reversal of prior longstanding policy, alongside Finland, to remain neutral on the question of formal NATO membership.