NATO chief pays tribute to “historic moment” when Finland, Sweden applies
BRUSSELS (AP) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that the military alliance is ready to take a historic moment and move forward quickly to allow Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries have submitted their applications for membership.
The official applications, which were handed over by Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors to NATO, set a security bell to tick. Russia, whose war against Ukraine has spurred them to join the military organization, has warned that they would not welcome such a move and could respond.
“I warmly welcome the wishes of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners “, said Stoltenberg. “All allies agree on the importance of NATO enlargement. We all agree that we must stand together, and we all agree that this is a historic moment that we must seize.”
“This is a good day at a critical moment for our security,” said a radiant Stoltenberg as he stood beside the two envoys, with NATO, Finnish and Swedish flags in the background.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that the alliance stop expanding towards Russia’s borders and several NATO allies, led by the United States and Britain, have signaled that they are ready to provide security support to Finland and Sweden should he try to provoke or destabilize them during it. time it takes to become full members.
Countries will only benefit from NATO’s Article 5 Security Guarantee – the part of the Alliance’s founding treaty that promises that every attack on a member would be considered an attack by all of them – once the ratification process for membership is completed, probably in a few months.
For the time being, the application must now be considered by the 30 member states. That process is expected to take about two weeks, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken reiterates that the United States would “strongly support” Finland and Sweden if they formally apply for NATO. (Source: CNN)
If his objections are overcome, and the accession negotiations go as well as expected, the two can become members within a few months. The process usually takes eight to 12 months, but NATO wants to move quickly given the threat from Russia that hangs over the heads of the Nordic countries.
Canada says, for example, that it expects to ratify its accession protocol in just a few days.
Stoltenberg said that NATO allies “are determined to work through all issues and reach swift conclusions.”
Public opinion in Finland and Sweden has changed sharply in favor of membership since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
Finland and Sweden work closely with NATO. They have functioning democracies, well-funded armed forces and contribute to the Alliance’s military operations and air policing. All obstacles they encounter will only be of a technical or possibly political nature.
NATO’s membership process is not formalized, and steps may vary. But first, their requests will be reviewed at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) for the 30 member states, probably at ambassadorial level.
The NAC will decide whether it wants to move towards membership and what measures must be taken to achieve it. This depends mostly on how well aligned the candidate countries are with NATO’s political, military and legal standards, and whether they contribute to security in the North Atlantic area. This should not be a major problem for Finland and Sweden.
During accession negotiations, which can be concluded in just one day once the terms of these negotiations have been established, the two will undertake to maintain Article 5 and to meet NATO’s internal budget expenditure commitments, which amount to approximately $ 2.5 billion, divided proportionally between what would be 32 Member States.
Finland and Sweden would also be made aware of their role in NATO’s defense planning and of any other legal or security obligations they may have, such as the scrutiny of personnel and the handling of classified information.
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