Finland confirms NATO membership

(Helsinki) Finland announced its “historic” NATO candidacy on Sunday, ahead of a decisive meeting in Sweden with a view to a probable simultaneous application for membership by the two countries, a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine .

Finland’s president and a government council “have jointly decided that Finland is going to apply for NATO membership,” said head of state Sauli Niinistö.

“It is a historic day. A new era is dawning,” he said at a press conference.

Despite last-minute hostility from Turkey, NATO member countries are “on the right track” to find a consensus on the integration of Finland and Sweden, judged the head of Croatian diplomacy Gordan Grlic Radman , Sunday on the sidelines of a meeting of ministers of the alliance in Berlin.

“I am ready to have a new discussion with the president [turc] Erdogan on the issues he raised,” Niinistö said.

Turkey criticizes the two countries, and Stockholm in particular, for showing too much leniency towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK, despite it being on the EU’s list of organizations terrorists.

Majority river

After the announcement of the executive, the Finnish Parliament must now examine the membership project on Monday, with a vote expected according to the president of the chamber.

With the support acquired on Saturday from the Social Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the latter must result in a river majority of at least 169 Yes among the 200 Finnish parliamentarians, according to the latest projections.

“We hope that Parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO in the next few days. It will be based on a clear mandate,” said Sanna Marin.

In Sweden, which is also about to announce its decision, the leadership of the Social Democratic Party began a decisive meeting on Saturday morning, where the dominant formation of Swedish politics should abandon its line hostile to membership.

A press conference is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time.

In the event of a green light from Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s party, the way would be clear for an announcement of a Swedish candidacy, after nearly two centuries of neutrality and then, since the 1990s, of military non-alignment.

After breaking with their neutrality in the 1990s with the end of the Cold War, by becoming NATO partners and members of the European Union, the two nations would thus tie up a little more with the Western blocs.

Formally, the two countries must then submit their application to NATO headquarters for the opening of membership negotiations, which require unanimity from the 30 current members.

” Very quickly ”

Despite the risk of a Turkish blockage, “I am convinced that the allies that we are will view our membership of this alliance with a constructive and positive eye”, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said on Sunday in Berlin.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock even assured that these two memberships could take place “very quickly”.

After accession negotiations, which can be brief, the process of parliamentary ratification by member countries takes several months.

Faced with the risk of Russian reprisals, Sweden and Finland have sought in recent weeks to multiply assurances of their protection during the accession process.

Only NATO members benefit from the famous article 5 of mutual protection, not the candidates.

On Saturday, the Finnish president called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to inform him of his country’s imminent application for membership, which arouses hostility from Moscow.

The Russian president told him that joining NATO “would be a mistake”, judging that “there is no threat to the security of Finland”, according to the Kremlin.

Helsinki anticipates Russian reprisals, but does not believe in a military operation.

“After my call with Putin, I think so all the more,” said Mr. Niinistö, indicating that the conversation had not given rise to any “threat”.

According to the latest polls, the share of Finns wanting to join the alliance has exceeded three-quarters, or triple the level before the war in Ukraine.

In Sweden, support also jumped, but around 50%, for around 20% unfavorable opinions.