Finnish and Nato flags flutter at the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry in Helsinki, Finland, ahead of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 4, 2023. (Antti Hämäläinen / Lehtikuva / AFP)
Updated at 10:25am ET with comments from Finland’s ascension ceremony at NATO headquarters, Brussels.
WASHINGTON and BELFAST — Less than 11 months after applying, Finland officially became the 31st member of the NATO alliance today, with a signing ceremony in Brussels.
The signed agreement may be bittersweet for Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, who championed the NATO membership but on Sunday saw her party defeated in a general election that will cost her the prime minister’s chair. However, the new government, led by the conservative National Coalition Party, has backed NATO membership.
“The era of military non alignment in our history has come to an end, a new era begins,” said Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö at the ascension ceremony, held at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. “NATO membership strengthens our international position and [gives] room for manoeuvre.”
He stressed that Finland’s alliance membership “is not targeted against anyone,” despite Russia judging the move as a provocative one and threatening a military build up on Finnish borders. “Finland is a stable and predictable Nordic country that seeks peaceful resolution of disputes,” added Niinistö.
He also said that “considerable work” lies ahead in order for Finland’s military to be integrated as part of NATO’s common defense.
“The Finnish defense forces are facing new demands and challenges to which we must respond [but] at the same time, it is clear that Finland’s most significant contribution to NATO’s collective deterrence and defense is built on the security and defence of our own territory,” explained Niinistö.
As part of the ascension ceremony, Finland’s flag was simultaneously raised at NATO’s headquarters and at both of the alliance’s strategic command’s in Mons, Belgium and Norfolk, VA.
Usually NATO membership takes some time to happen, but the majority of members moved quickly to ratify Finland and Sweden in record time. The exceptions were Turkey and Hungary, which dug in their heels — and as all 30 NATO members need to approve new additions, Istanbul and Budapest have been able to stymie the process for months.
It’s also likely a bittersweet moment for Sweden, which aspires to join the alliance but whose bid has been complicated by geopolitics.
Since the end of World War II, Finland and Sweden have been joined at the hip as militarily neutral, refusing to side with either NATO or the USSR. After the end of the Cold War, there were various pushes within each country for NATO membership, but they never got very far. That changed dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Public polling just days after the invasion showed massive jumps in support for NATO membership and the governments acted quickly, formally submitting bids on May 18.
While Sweden this month gave its blessing to Finland to move forward with membership solo, Stockholm still hopes to join the alliance in the future. While some European sources have expressed optimism that Sweden could join before the end of the year, there is agreement that there won’t be movement until, at best, the Turkish elections in May provide a clear outcome of who will be leading in Ankara.
In his comments, Niinistö vowed to continue working on “rapid Swedish membership” of NATO, as Stockholm’s ascension application still has to be ratified by the Turkish parliament.
Niinistö said he “looked forward” to seeing Sweden become the 32nd member of the alliance at NATO’s forthcoming Heads of State summit to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania in July.
How Sweden and Finland Could Impact NATO:
- Finland, Sweden in NATO ‘opens up a lot of possibilities’
- Norwegian air chief wants ‘Nordic Air Operations Center’ if Sweden, Finland join NATO
- Danish defense minister: New status quo will ‘move NATO to the north,’ with Baltic emphasis
- Finland needs ability to ‘react rapidly’ to any Russian aggression: Minister
- What Finland will bring to NATO – and how it might change the alliance
- NATO expansion should be accompanied by a Nordic defense reset
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