Finland counts down to the date of application to join NATO

Finland is considering joining NATO after the war with Russia – Ukraine. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin earlier said that the fighting “has changed the security policy situation in a way that cannot be returned to the way it was”.

Joining NATO would mark a major turning point in Finland’s decades-long policy of neutrality but could lead to a reaction from Russia, which opposes NATO expansion.

Pekka Haavisto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, said that when all political parties are ready, the latest being the Social Democrats on May 7, the discussion of joining NATO is moved to the next steps. , including this country’s parliament.

Finland is currently led by a five-party coalition government. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will announce his comments on NATO’s accession on May 12, kicking off the chain of events leading up to the formal application.

Finland is not alone in rethinking its security policy. Neighboring Sweden is also reconsidering its neutral stance after the Russia-Ukraine war.

“I’m really very supportive of our (Finland and Swedish) joining and now it seems that we have a parallel process that could have the same outcome,” said Minister Haavisto, noting Sweden. Sweden will probably apply to join NATO at the same time as Finland.

“We have very good cooperation on military matters with Sweden. In fact, we can jointly monitor the airspace, the maritime areas… and we are relying a lot on each other.” – he added.

Some NATO members, especially Virtue and the United States, have expressed their willingness to provide security guarantees to the two Nordic countries from the time of applying to join the union until becoming a full member.

In order for Stockholm and Helsinki to join the defense alliance, NATO’s 30 existing members must approve an application to join. This process can take at least several months. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed there will be a “minimum delay” with the applications of the two Nordic countries.

Finland hopes to get some political commitment from the coalition at a summit in June in Madrid, Spain.

“Madrid is very important with its political commitments and at the highest level welcomes new member states such as Finland and Sweden. But even before that, the NATO Council will certainly discuss this issue and we also hope that each NATO member state will make commitments and opinions as soon as Finland and Sweden submit their applications. “- said the Finnish foreign minister.