“This is a historic day for Finland, for Sweden, for NATO and for Euro-Atlantic security,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the signing ceremony. He now relies on all Allies to ensure the speedy ratification of the accession protocols. Sweden and Finland would make essential and important contributions to the alliance and make NATO even stronger, Stoltenberg said.
However, it is unclear whether this will actually happen as quickly as many had hoped. In Germany, for example, according to the FDP parliamentary group, the accession protocols must be submitted to the Bundestag for approval this Friday.
Turkey, in particular, is considered a factor of uncertainty in the necessary ratification. To the annoyance of other allies, the country had already delayed the start of the accession process for several weeks, citing Sweden and Finland’s alleged support for organizations such as the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG and the Gulen Movement.
Only when both countries promised in writing on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid last week that they would respond to various demands from Turkey did Turkey give up its resistance to starting the admissions process. At the same time, however, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened not to submit the accession protocols to parliament for ratification if Sweden and Finland did not keep their word. Specifically, he mentioned, for example, an alleged promise by Sweden to extradite more than 70 “terrorists”.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, present at the signing ceremony in Brussels, avoided questions on Tuesday. “Lists and numbers are not mentioned in the agreement,” she said, referring to the Madrid statement. “To my knowledge, we have not received any specific list.”
His Finnish colleague Pekka Haavisto added: “Everything we agreed on is recorded in the document.” There are no “hidden documents”. In the case of extradition requests, the legal process and court rulings must be followed.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership on May 18 under the impression of the Russian attack on Ukraine. For decades, the two Nordic countries prioritized alliance neutrality.
Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine had destroyed peace in Europe. That is why it is now important for us to be together at this dangerous time in our history.
Until Finland and Sweden are officially members of the alliance and can therefore request assistance in the event of an attack under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, they are protected by security guarantees from countries such as the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany. From now on, they can also participate in NATO Council meetings without voting rights.