Finland and Sweden sign the Accession Protocols for NATO membership
Europe, News July 6, 2022 2 Comments on Finland and Sweden sign the Accession Protocols for NATO membershipFinland and Sweden are now one step closer to attaining full membership into the NATO alliance as all the NATO alliance countries prepare to ratify their documents.
The Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde visited the NATO headquarters in Brussels to hold a joint meeting with the ambassadors of all 30 NATO countries as they signed the Accession Protocols at the North Atlantic Council meeting on July 5, 2022.
The signing of the Accession Protocol puts Sweden and Finland one step closer before the documentation of the two Scandinavian countries could be ratified by all the 30 NATO member states in order to finalize their membership in the alliance. After signing the documents for Accession Protocols, Finland and Sweden now have an invitee status into NATO until their full membership status can be finalized in the coming weeks.
During a post-meeting press conference, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde stated that “Today’s meeting marks an important step towards full NATO membership. Now that the accession protocols have been signed, and during the accession process, we will be integrated into the work within NATO’s structures. A great deal remains to be done before we become full members, but today’s step is very positive for the security of Sweden and the Swedish people.”
Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto also shared the same views by stating, “I think this has been a really good cooperation all the time with Sweden and we have been going through this process hand in hand and we of course, hope that this will last the end of the process. We are in a similar security situation. Our security cooperation is well advanced between Finland and Sweden, and NATO will benefit when we are coming together to NATO.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO’s door remains open to European democracies that are ready and willing to contribute to shared security. “With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer, as we face the biggest security crisis in decades,” he said. He also thanked the Turkish leadership for a ‘constructive approach’ towards Sweden and Finland’s accession into the alliance.
Turkey was the only country among all 30 NATO member states to oppose Finland and Sweden’s accession into the alliance due to their alleged support to anti-Turkish elements and harboring terrorism. A major breakthrough came during the Madrid Summit 2022 when Turkey agreed to lift its opposition against Sweden and Finland’s accession into the alliance after the three countries agreed to work together in order to address Turkey’s reservations.
On the sidelines of the Madrid Summit 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson held talks moderated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Following the dialogues, a memorandum was signed allowing Stockholm and Helsinki to join NATO.
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