Finland, a historically non-aligned Nordic nation with a 1,340km border with Russia, took a historic step on Thursday by receiving unanimous approval from Turkey’s parliament to officially join NATO.
The Turkish parliament unanimously approved a bill on Thursday paving the way for Finland to join NATO. It is an essential move for Finland since, in the aftermath of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated to their lowest point in decades.
After Hungary’s legislature approved, Turkey’s parliament became the last of the alliance’s 30 members to ratify Finland’s NATO membership. The Turkish parliament approved Finland’s bid; however, Sweden’s entry into the alliance is still in the dark.
After the Turkish parliament’s decision, the Finnish government said that joining NATO would strengthen stability and security in the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe regions.
A great deal for Finland and its security
In May 2022, Finland and its neighbour Sweden submitted applications to join NATO. Since NATO’s founding, both nations have maintained nonalignment stances. However, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment after being alarmed by Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. As a result, Finnish support for joining NATO increased dramatically, rising from a mere one-third to nearly 80%.
Sauli Niinisto, the Finnish president, said in a statement following the vote that his nation is all set to join NATO. He added, “We look forward to welcoming Sweden to join us as soon as possible.” The addition of Finland would be the alliance’s first expansion since North Macedonia’s accession in 2020.
On Twitter, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised Turkey for supporting Finland’s membership. He stated that the entire NATO family would become stronger and safer. Also, before Finland can join NATO as its 31st member, it must complete a few formalities, which it anticipates to complete by early next month.
What’s next in the process?
The United States and other NATO members expect Finland and Sweden to join the organisation at the summit scheduled for July 11 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
For its part, Finnish authorities have already finished the formal ratification process before its Sunday parliamentary election and ensuing electoral break, which could have otherwise delayed the process by a few months.
Once the ratification procedure has been completed, the U.S. government in Washington, which serves as NATO’s depository per the alliance’s founding treaty, must receive Turkey’s and Hungary’s approval papers.
At that point, Stoltenberg will officially ask Finland to join NATO. Then, as a final step, Finland will send its “instrument of accession,” a document signed by its foreign minister, to the American government. Once the U.S. receives Finland’s instrument of accession, it will officially join NATO.
Sweden’s bid to join NATO left hanging
Sweden’s membership in NATO is still uncertain. However, Swedish allies are putting increasing pressure on Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in the midst of a challenging presidential campaign, to accept Sweden’s membership.
According to Ankara, Sweden has not done enough to repress militants. Sweden should take extra action against Kurdish militant supporters and network members that Ankara believes are responsible for a 2016 coup attempt. Turkey has repeatedly demanded this of Sweden.
Moreover, Turkey was recently outraged by a protest in Sweden where an anti-Islam protester set fire to the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy.
Erdogan stated earlier this week when asked about Sweden joining NATO: “There are certain things we expect of them. Sweden must first fulfil them for us to approve their NATO bid.”
Sweden, which amended its constitution to enact stricter anti-terrorism laws, voiced optimism that it would be permitted to join in July before the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
