NATO countries officially signed on Tuesday for the accession of Sweden and Finland to the military alliance. This means that from now on the prospective members can participate in the discussion, but not yet vote.
Sweden and Finland started talks on Monday to prepare them for membership. For previous candidate members, that process took many months, but now it was completed in one day. This is because the two countries have been working closely with NATO for years.
“It is truly a historic moment for Finland, Sweden and NATO and for our shared security,” Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the signing ceremony. On behalf of the Netherlands, outgoing ambassador Marisa Gerards signed. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) speaks of a “substantial step for our security”.
The two aspiring members now need the approval of the parliaments of most of the thirty member states. The so-called ratification is expected to take several months. The Dutch cabinet sends the associated bill to the Council of State for urgent advice. That advice is expected to be finalized on Thursday, after which the draft will be sent to the House of Representatives and the Senate. Hoekstra hopes that both Houses will soon proceed to treatment.
Sweden and Finland cannot yet rely on NATO’s protection. However, both countries have received security guarantees from several countries. The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and the other Scandinavian NATO members, among others, have pledged to help Sweden and Finland in the event of an attack.
Turkey decided last week at the NATO summit in Madrid that it would no longer oppose Sweden and Finland’s membership. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did point out that Turkey will still thwart the accession of the two countries if, in his view, they do not make enough of their commitments about, for example, tackling the Kurdish resistance movement PKK.
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