Finland, Sweden now considering joining NATO
LONDON: Finland started a process expected to lead to its bid to enter the NATO defense bloc, while media in neighbouring Sweden reported its ruling party is now backing the idea after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s government published a security-policy report on Wednesday that noted membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would offer guarantees in the form of the alliance’s mutual defence clause. Premier Sanna Marin said a bid could be decided “in coming weeks,” while her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson said Sweden is still analysing the situation, declining to confirm if her party is changing its stance.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February pushed a potential NATO entry to the top of the agenda in both nations, which have long shunned NATO membership even as they have clearly tightened cooperation with the bloc over the past years. Russia has repeatedly warned both with potential consequences, with President Vladimir Putin seeking guarantees against widening the bloc before the Ukraine war.
NATO membership has become the preferred option for Finland, which has fought two wars with the Soviet Union and preserved independence it had gained from Czarist Russia during World War I. Finland, which in the past staked its security on fostering a trade relationship with Russia, concluded no such ties would guarantee its safety.
While opinion polls in neighbouring Sweden reflect a similar change, its ruling Social Democrats have so far publicly opposed such a move.
Finland — which has the EU’s longest border with Russia — is currently not experiencing an immediate military threat, but is preparing for the possible use of military force against it, the white paper said. While the document expectedly made no formal proposal to join NATO, it will provide the basis for discussions in parliament starting next week.
Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen called for thinking about security for a longer term, saying the Nordic nation needs to figure out “how we best ensure that war never comes to Finnish borders again.” The security rethink by Finland would be key to a similar step by Sweden, which shares no border with Russia but has been spooked by reports Russia could invade its Baltic Sea island Gotland in any operation directed against Baltic NATO members.
Speaking at a joint press conference Wednesday with Marin, Premier Andersson reiterated her government is due to present a report in late May on its options following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She added any future stance will include a continued close security alignment with Finland. “We will continue our close coordination and cooperation, and we have to discuss different options, and no option is without risk,” she said. “We want to analyse the situation to see what is best for Sweden’s security.”