“This is a historic day. A new era has begun,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki.
The Finnish head of state said that Finland’s accession to NATO “is proof of the strength of democracy” and recalled that this decision was supported by the majority of citizens, political parties and Parliament (Eduskunta).
“Finland will increase its security as much as possible, and this poses no danger to anyone,” Sauli Niinistö said, referring to neighboring Russia, which views the entry of this Scandinavian country into NATO as a threat.
According to the Associated Press, the Finnish parliament is expected to back the decision in the coming days, a formality of the process.
The membership application will then be sent to Brussels, NATO Headquarters.
This is expected to happen within the next week.
It comes a day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin warned Finland that ending military neutrality would be a “mistake”.
After the war in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden began a discussion about joining NATO, which, if implemented, would mean abandoning the historical position of non-alignment of the two countries.
Russia has warned Finland that it will be forced to take retaliatory measures “both of a military-technical and other nature” if the country joins NATO.
Also today in Sweden, the Social Democrats currently in power will speak out on whether they support the candidacy.
With the support of the Social Democratic deputies in the Swedish Parliament, there would be an overwhelming majority in favor of the country’s candidacy for the Atlantic Alliance.
The Swedish Social Democrats have been since the creation of the Atlantic Alliance in 1949 the main political force against entry, and this line was still confirmed at the last party congress in November.
On Friday, the Swedish authorities released a government and parties report on possible accession, outlining the benefits for Sweden’s accession, including for security in northern Europe.
Russia has a 1,340 km long land border with Finland and a maritime border with Sweden.
MNE highlights ‘good reason for optimism’ on divergence in Alliance expansion
The Portuguese Foreign Minister stressed today that there is “a good basis for optimism” about Finland and Sweden joining NATO, which will resolve the “open issues”, namely the differences pointed out by Turkey.
“I think there are good grounds for optimism. [porque] we all understand that the differences that may exist are always small compared to what really matters, which is strengthening the Alliance and strengthening the security of Finland and Sweden,” said Joao Gomes Cravinho.
Speaking at the conclusion of an informal meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers in Berlin, the head of Portuguese diplomacy stressed that “Turkey, Finland and Sweden are in the process of dialogue to resolve differences” after Ankara was unwilling to expand the Atlantic alliance.
“What happened today was a repetition, already among us – 30 [e sem os chefes da diplomacia finlandesa e sueca] – about the very strong support regarding the accession of Finland and Sweden, and Turkey itself says that it is keen that Finland and Sweden can enter, but it has some concerns and Finland and Sweden will know how to solve open issues, ” – said Joao Gomes Cravinho, addressing the Portuguese journalists.
To allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO, the approval of the 30 members of the Atlantic Alliance is required.
On the eve of the meeting in the German capital, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke out against the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, in favor of hosting Kurdish militants, whom Turkey considers terrorists.
It was the first dissenting voice among the 30 Allies on this issue.
The admission of a new member state to NATO requires unanimity, which means that Turkey will be able to block the entry of two Scandinavian countries, whose candidacy should be formalized in the coming days.
However, on Saturday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman came to ensure Turkey “doesn’t close the door” on the two Scandinavian countries joining the Atlantic alliance.
