Finland, Sweden to submit Nato membership bid
STOCKHOLM: Finland and Sweden will submit their bids to join Nato together on Wednesday at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said. “I’m happy we have taken the same path and we can do it together,” Andersson said on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
Finland’s legislature voted 1888 on Tuesday to approve a bid for Nato membership, the same day as Sweden’s foreign minister signed her country’s application.
The two nations have accelerated moves to join the Western defence alliance following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Finland borders Russia, while traditionally neutral Sweden has seen a groundswell of public support for joining the Usled alliance.
The Finnish vote, which came after a two-day debate, clears the way for an application for membership.
President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin had already declared on Sunday that they wanted to submit an application.
Niinistö now has to sign the application before it can be handed in together with Sweden’s document at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde put pen to paper on Tuesday, a day after the government announced it wanted to become a Nato member.
“Our Nato application is now formally signed,” Linde wrote on her Twitter account. “This feels big, it feels serious, it feels like we have landed on what we believe is best for Sweden after all.”
Our Nato application is now formally signed. This feels big, it feels serious, it feels like we have landed on what we believe is best for Sweden after all
ANN LINDE Swedish Foreign Minister