The Senate votes to approve NATO membership for Sweden and Finland
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) called the vote “a signal to Russia: They cannot intimidate America or Europe.”
The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO would increase the alliance’s military assets, especially since the two countries’ significant arsenals of artillery, fighter aircraft and naval weapons are already compatible with NATO’s systems.
The expansion — adding Finland would more than double the amount of the organization’s territory directly bordering Russia — “is exactly the opposite of what Putin envisioned when he ordered his tanks to invade Ukraine,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (DN. J) .).
According to Article 10 of the NATO Charter, additional European countries can be added to the ranks only “by unanimity”. The seven countries that have yet to ratify Sweden and Finland’s membership include some where opposition could be an obstacle, such as Hungary and Turkey.
After initially objecting to the bid, Turkey struck a deal in late June to drop its opposition to the addition of Finland and Sweden if they agreed to close the recruitment and financial networks of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and address Ankara’s request to expel certain affiliates.
At the time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that Sweden and Finland would have to “fulfill their obligations” before the Turkish parliament would consider ratifying their bid to join NATO. And in the weeks since, he has warned that Turkey still can “freeze” process in its tracks, indicated that he was unhappy with their progress on the terms of the deal.
Meanwhile, Hungary, whose authoritarian right-wing leader Viktor Orban, is expected to address the conservative political action conference in Texas this week maintains an enigmatic stance on how it will deal with Sweden’s and Finland’s bids.
Even in the United States, there is a small but vocal contingent that opposes NATO expansion. In a defiant speech before Wednesday’s vote, Sen claimed. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that it would be against US interests to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because “expanding NATO will require more American forces in Europe, more manpower, more firepower, more resources, more spending and not just now but in the long term.”
“Our biggest foreign adversary is not in Europe, our biggest foreign adversary is in Asia,” he insisted.
Hawley’s opposition was strongly condemned by members of his own party.
“Working more closely with these partners will help us counter Russia and China,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in remarks, calling the accession a “national security slam dunk.”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), meanwhile, pointed out that it would be “strange actually” for senators who voted for North Macedonia’s accession to NATO in 2019 — a group that includes Hawley — to suddenly oppose the candidacy of Finland and Sweden.
“Let’s be honest, who can deny the much stronger cases for Finland and Sweden?” Cotton said and argued that these countries were “much larger, much more capable, and much more strategically placed.”
Hawley’s opposition was all the more striking given that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who opposed North Macedonia’s membership in 2019 and Montenegro’s membership in 2017, voted for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the only other senator who has opposed North Macedonia and Montenegro’s bid, voted “present” on Wednesday, noting on the floor that in the wake of Russia’s Ukraine invasion, “I am less adamant about preventing NATO expansion with Sweden and Finland.”
The Senate rejected Paul’s efforts to attach an amendment to the ratification that would have expressly stated that the United States’ Article 5 obligations to defend member nations would not supersede Congress’s constitutional right to authorize the use of military force.
Menendez said the amendment was “unnecessary” to protect the constitutional role of Congress. He told his colleagues that it was potentially “deeply damaging” and “self-defeating to do anything that casts doubt on our steadfast commitment to NATO.”
The Senate approved by voice vote an amendment stating its expectation that all NATO members spend at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense.