Finland officially decided on Tuesday to apply for NATO membership. With this, the Finnish government is taking the same step as their Swedish colleagues, who announced this on Monday.
President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced on Sunday that the government is behind a membership application. On Tuesday, parliament supported the government’s decision.
Finland and Sweden are likely to submit their application jointly on Wednesday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said. NATO has promised the Northern European countries a quick and smooth accession.
Finland has been cooperating more closely with NATO since 2014. In that year, Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both political and popular voices have risen in favor of a membership application.
The requests from Finland and Sweden had been in the air for some time. The decisions have major consequences for the military balance of power in Europe.
Thirty NATO countries must approve accession
Russia sees NATO expansion as a threat to its own security and has warned Finland and Sweden of “serious military and political consequences”.
Finland and Sweden are not protected by NATO until they are full members. The United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have already said they will help Finland and Sweden if they are attacked before then.
Neighboring countries that are already members of NATO (Norway, Denmark and Iceland) also announced in a joint statement that they would come to the aid of Finland and Sweden in the event of an attack.
Finland and Sweden will not be full members of NATO until all thirty members agree to join. This approval process can take up to a year. Only Turkey has objected to membership, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is confident he can allay this country’s concerns.