“Historical moment”: Finland and Sweden approach NATO membership
Finland and Sweden are one step closer to joining NATO’s military alliance.
Both countries, who decided to apply for membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukrainehad their bid approved at a summit last week.
The next step, however, is to have their accession ratified by the parliaments of NATO member states.
On Tuesday, that process officially began when NATO’s 30 allies signed a accession protocol. This means that Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence, but they will not be protected by NATO’s defense clause – that an attack on an ally is an attack on everyone – until ratification. It will probably take up to a year.
“This is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger … at a time when we are facing the most serious security crisis in decades.”
The formal approval comes after NATO’s 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives approved the accession of Finland and Sweden at last week’s summit.
It also allows Finnish and Swedish representatives to attend all NATO meetings, even if they do not yet have the right to vote, or are protected by the Alliance’s defense clause.
The last obstacle for the two countries may be to get parliamentary approval from Turkey. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, giving each one a right to block.
Last week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could still block the accession process if Finland and Sweden fail to fully meet Turkey’s demands.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could block the process if the two countries fail to grant Turkey’s demands for the extradition of people seen as terror suspects. The wanted persons in Turkey have links to banned Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled priest accused of a failed coup in Turkey in 2016.
But Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that he did not expect any change.
“There were security issues that needed to be addressed, and we did what we always do within NATO,” he said. “We found a common ground.”
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde also told reporters that a specific list of people had not been included in their agreement with Turkey.
“We will respect that memorandum and follow it up,” she said, adding that her government’s actions always “agree with Swedish law …[and] international law. “
Given all the different legislative procedures in NATO’s 30 members, it may still take several months before Finland and Sweden become official members.
Germany’s parliament has said it would ratify the membership bids on Friday, while Estonia hopes to be first.