Britain must ensure NATO integration for Sweden and Finland “as soon as possible”
Britain must ensure that Sweden and Finland are integrated into NATO “as soon as possible”, a foreign minister has told members of parliament.
Vicky Ford made a statement in the Commons on Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, saying that it was a “mark of the threat Russia poses to these two countries, which have tried so hard to remain neutral for so many decades that they are now apply to join the alliance ”.
Ford added: “Finland and Sweden are NATO’s closest partners. They share our principles and values, including freedom, human rights, democracy and the rule of law.”
Ms Ford said the UK “will pursue this faster-than-normal approval process and why we encourage our other NATO allies to ratify as soon as possible”.
She told MEPs: “We must ensure that they are integrated into NATO as soon as possible. And we should strive to complete the ratification process before the summer recess.
“As it stands, we do not have the 21 days of parliamentary time needed to use section 20 of the 2010 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act to ratify within this time frame.
“Therefore, in accordance with section 22 of the Act, we believe that the accession protocols of Sweden and Finland should be ratified without the 21-day requirements having been met.”
Ms Ford warned of their decision to join, “exposing both countries to a potentially aggressive Russian reaction”.
She said: “Russia has already made many threats about the possibility of Swedish and Finnish membership of NATO, and by using the process I have described, we will be able to ensure that Britain’s ratification is completed quickly and be a positive example for other NATO members. to follow.”
Labor called on the government to restart defense plans and stop the cuts to the army.
Shadow Foreign Minister David Lammy said: “It is remarkable that the illustration, frankly, of the dangers posed by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to Sweden and Finland has reversed its long-standing policy of freedom of alliance.
“But it is also a demonstration of how Russia’s attack on Ukraine has had the opposite effect of what it intended – to strengthen rather than weaken NATO, unite rather than divide the alliance.”
He added: “We believe that the government should restart defense plans and stop cuts to the army, as Labor has been arguing for several months.
“We believe it is important to deepen our security cooperation with our European allies and the EU as a complement to NATO’s role as the foundation of Euro-Atlantic security.”
Ms Ford replied: “We are about to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by the end of this decade.”
Conservative Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat called on the Minister to ensure that “interoperability actually goes much deeper, not only in the purchase of equipment … so that we can quickly end this war in Ukraine and before winter begins to impose extra costs on families. . our country.”
SNP Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Alyn Smith said: “We believe NATO is truly the cornerstone of European defense. With our worldview, we look forward to seeing an independent Scotland join the 29 of the 32 non – nuclear member states of NATO. ”
Labor’s Chris Bryant (Rhondda) expressed concern that “lethal equipment provided by different countries around Europe is available in 34 different shapes and sizes with 34 different manuals”.
Ms Ford noted the point of “ensuring that, where possible, there is a common strategy for support for Ukraine”.
Independent MP and former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn asked what steps are being taken to “try to bring about a ceasefire” and to “try and at least put an end to the fighting in this war before there can be a final political settlement”.
“Surely we must also speak the language of peace as well as the language she spoke this morning?” he said.
Ms Ford said: “Russia started this illegal war. Ever since this illegal war started, we have constantly, every day, day in and day out, asked Russia to lay down its arms and stop this war.”