Biden signs NATO membership protocol for Finland and Sweden
“Together with our allies and partners, we will write the future we want to see, and at a moment when Putin’s Russia has shattered peace and security in Europe – when autocrats are challenging the very foundations of a rules-based order – the strength of the transatlantic alliance and the United States: s commitment to NATO is more important than it has ever been,” Biden said before signing the protocols in the East Room on Tuesday afternoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been strongly opposed to any NATO expansion, calling it an imperialist threat. But analysts say the war in Ukraine has had the unintended consequence of strengthening the alliance amid fears Russia could attack other neighboring countries. Finland shares an 800-mile-long border with Russia.
“Putin thought he could tear us apart when this started,” Biden said. “Instead, he gets exactly what he didn’t want.”
Any European country may join NATO as long as it demonstrates that it can fulfill membership obligations such as military and financial contributions. That includes putting at least 2 percent of its GDP toward national defense and agreeing to NATO’s collective defense rule, a mechanism that requires members to come to each other’s defense in the event of an attack.
Finland and Sweden are to become NATO’s 31st and 32nd member countries. The most recent NATO expansion came in March 2020, when North Macedonia joined the group. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine have also indicated their interest in joining.