Finland became NATO’s newest member on Tuesday, April 4, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
NATO allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol on July 5, 2022, after which all 30 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
Finland’s accession coincided with the anniversary of the establishment of the alliance 74 years ago in 1949.
“We welcome Finland to the Alliance!,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto deposited Finland’s instrument of accession with the government of the United States, represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Secretary General then welcomed Finnish president Sauli Niinistö to NATO headquarters for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the country’s accession to the alliance.
“I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible,” Blinken said ahead of the ceremony.
The initial plan was for Finland and Sweden to join NATO together, but Sweden is still awaiting ratification from Turkey and Hungary. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly claimed Sweden did not live to its obligations under an agreement signed in Spain in 2022, under which Sweden was supposed to address a number of security issues concerning Turkey.
The main points of content are Sweden’s refusal to extradite individuals Turkey believes are part of terrorist groups.
“Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole,” he added. The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that Russian president Putin failed to “slam NATO’s door shut. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.
The Finnish national anthem and the NATO hymn were played, as Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time, in the presence of president Niinistö, foreign minister Haavisto, defense minister Kaikkonen, the foreign ministers of all NATO allies and invitee Sweden.
