Finland and Sweden can decide to join NATO together – but the Finnish minister clarifies the timeline
Top row
Finland and Sweden can decide together whether they will join NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Tuesday, although he said no date had been set for any applications after media socket reported that the leaders of the two countries could meet in mid-May to announce their plans.
Key facts
Haavisto told report it would be “useful” for Finland and Sweden to submit joint tenders for NATO membership.
Sweden has decided to submit the decision to the Riksdag, which means that “it is possible” that Sweden’s decision can be made on “the same days or at least within the same week” as Finland’s, according to Haavisto.
Haavisto did not give a date for when the two countries may make decisions, as the parliaments of both countries must discuss the issue.
Key background
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Finland and Sweden to re-evaluate their long-standing military neutrality. “There is one before and after February 24,” said Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson during a press conference this month, where they announced that both countries are conducting security audits. “The security landscape has completely changed.” NATO is an alliance of 30 countries joined by one security agreement which says “an attack on an ally is considered an attack on all allies”, and demands that NATO countries provide military assistance if a member state is attacked. Finland, which declared independence from Russia in 1917, shares an 810 km long border with Russia, and although Sweden does not border Russia, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea can be a vulnerable target if conflict broke out in the region, DW reports.
Main critic
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that Russia would need to “rebalance the situation” with “military and political consequences” if Finland or Sweden proceeded with an offer of NATO membership, claims that the move would not bring peace or stability to the European continent. Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said earlier this month that Russia was ready to send nuclear weapons to the Baltics if the two countries joined the alliance.
Key
Finland declared neutrality at the beginning of World War II, but the Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939. The invasion, called the Winter War, ended in 1940 with Finland ceding 11% of its territory to the Soviet Union as part of a peace agreement. Support for joining NATO in Finland rose sharply after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a survey conducted of the Finnish TV company Yleisradio Oy last month, with 62% of respondents supporting the move, up from 21% in 2017.
Further reading
Finland joins NATO “very likely” and hopefully “quickly”, says Finnish minister (Forbes)
Here’s why Finland and Sweden can join NATO – and why it matters (Forbes)