Germany ratifies NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
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BERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) – Germany ratified Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO on Friday, three days after the 30 members signed the most significant enlargement of the alliance on Tuesday.
Both the Berlin parliament and the Bundesrat, which group the federal states, approved the accession protocols for the two Nordic countries.
“This creates more security – for all NATO members and for Europe,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Twitter.
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The documents must be ratified by the parliaments of all 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty before Finland and Sweden can be protected by NATO’s defense clause, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
Ratification is likely to take up to a year, but in the meantime Helsinki and Stockholm can already participate in NATO meetings and gain greater access to intelligence. Read more
Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries to join NATO. On March 12, the Russian Foreign Ministry said “it will have serious military and political consequences”.
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Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Edited by Nick Macfie
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