Status: 08.07.2022 14:07
The Bundestag and the Bundesrat support the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Defense Minister Lambrecht spoke in the Bundestag of an “important sign of solidarity and reliability”.
The Federal Council also gave the green light for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. The House of States decided not to convene the mediation committee on the law that the Bundestag had passed a few hours earlier. The law is the prerequisite for the acceptance of the corresponding protocols by Germany. It was not subject to approval in the state chamber.
Large majority in the Bundestag
In the morning, the Bundestag voted with a large majority for the two countries to join NATO. The SPD, Greens, FDP and Union factions voted to expand the transatlantic alliance to the North. The AfD parliamentary group largely agreed, the Left Party against. Germany was one of the first countries to pave the way for accession. Estonia and Canada have done this before.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far achieved the exact opposite of what he really wanted with his war of aggression against Ukraine. “The West, which he so despises, is getting stronger, not weaker,” the SPD politician told parliament. “Germany is sending an important signal of solidarity and reliability,” Lambrecht said. She emphasized that with the admission of the two EU states to the alliance, the balance of power would also shift: “Europe’s strength will increase and the US will be relieved.”
“gain in strength and cohesion”
At the start of the Bundestag debate, the federal government campaigned for approval. “The planned membership of Finland and Sweden in the North Atlantic Defense Alliance is of utmost importance to us and our partners in view of the shocks we are experiencing in Europe and around the world as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine,” he added. said Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke on behalf of the government.
In a dramatically changed security situation in Europe, this membership not only means additional security for the Nordic partners, but also an increase in the strength and cohesion of NATO as a whole, Lindner said. There is also a long partnership with both countries. “Today we are strengthening NATO’s democratic values.”
All NATO countries must agree
On Tuesday, the ambassadors of the 30 states of the alliance had already signed the so-called accession protocols at the headquarters in Brussels in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two Nordic countries. So far, Canada, Estonia, Norway, Denmark and Iceland have ratified accession.
The two formerly militarily neutral states applied for NATO membership under the impression of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Finland shares a 1,300 km border with Russia. For membership to take effect, all NATO countries must agree to it and complete the ratification process.
NATO expansion to the north: Bundestag agrees
Kai Küstner, ARD Berlin, July 8, 2022 10:55 am