Es are just a few sentences that complete a Finnish turning point. Finland is ahead of our time, and so it is 10 a.m. in Helsinki when the long-awaited joint statement by President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin is published, leaving no doubt about the country’s new course: “Finland must immediately Apply for NATO membership,” the statement said. They both agreed that NATO membership would strengthen Finnish security. “As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the whole defense alliance.”
Until now, Niinistö and Marin, who, as president and prime minister, are supposed to jointly chart the country’s foreign policy course according to the Finnish constitution, have always avoided expressing their opinion on joining NATO. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the debate rapidly picked up speed in Finland, and support for such a step has also grown among the Finns: the country shares a good 1,300 km border with Russia.
NATO is already expecting the mail from the north
Finland hasn’t been neutral for a long time, the country is in the EU and already expanded cooperation with NATO after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 – in retrospect, the foundations for the turning point were laid here. However, military non-alignment has so far been a central element of Finnish security policy. Peaceful coexistence with the neighbor was organized in this way for decades. But then Russia invaded Ukraine. And the Finns pushed ahead with their change of course.
In the spring there was an important discussion in Finnish society and in Parliament, according to the statement. It took time to find a point of view and also for contacts with NATO member states and Sweden. We wanted to give space to this discussion. However, Finland has not yet submitted an official application to NATO. “We hope,” the statement said, “that the necessary national steps will be taken quickly in the next few days.” Marin’s Social Democrats still have to agree to the step. It is also still being discussed in Parliament and the parliamentary groups. An application could then be made by the beginning of next week at the latest.
NATO is already expecting the mail from the north. Jens Stoltenberg commented quickly after the message from Helsinki: “Should Finland decide to submit an application, they would be warmly welcomed into NATO,” said the NATO Secretary General. The accession process will be “smooth and quick”. Finland is one of the closest partners of the alliance, a mature democracy and makes an important contribution to Euro-Atlantic security. Membership would strengthen both Finland’s and NATO’s security and show “that NATO’s door is open and that Finland decides its own future”. This last sentence was addressed to Moscow.
Now all that’s missing is the letter from Helsinki – the official announcement that the country wants to join NATO. The alliance is prepared for this and they want to absorb the country at almost the speed of light, together with Sweden, of course, where the same decision is expected in the next few days. “It will take about two weeks from the application for membership to the signing of the accession protocol,” a NATO official told the FAZ and some other international media. Diplomats confirmed this and also gave the reason for the rush: they wanted to keep the span as short as possible in order to send a clear message to Russia. A message of determination.
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