Finland and Sweden join NATO

In connection with the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden decided to end their long-term neutrality and join NATO. The Netherlands and other members of this military alliance are striving to ensure the rapid accession of these countries - on July 5, 2022, protocols were signed on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. On behalf of the Netherlands, the protocol was signed by Permanent Representative to NATO and Ambassador to the organization Marisa Gerards.

From the moment the protocol was signed, Finland and Sweden have the status of states officially invited to join NATO. To complete the accession to the organization, it is necessary that the parliaments of each of the NATO member countries approve this decision. It is expected that the process of such confirmations will be accelerated as much as possible, and the new countries will become full members of the military alliance in the near future. Turkey's objections related to the harboring in Finland and Sweden of members of Kurdish organizations, which the Turks consider terrorist, and restrictions on military trade, were settled during the negotiations.

Since the 1990s, Finland and Sweden have been cooperating with NATO, although they were not officially part of the organization. Both countries became members of the EU in 1995. The war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine ended a long period of neutrality for these countries - on May 18, 2022, they jointly applied for NATO membership. So the goals of the war originally declared by Russia (in terms of non-expansion of NATO and its rollback to the state of 1997) have completely failed. On the contrary, Russia received an additional 1272 kilometers of border with the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This is a section of the Finnish border.

It should be said that both Finland and Sweden have powerful modern armed forces, while Sweden has a developed high-tech military-industrial complex. In 2021, Sweden sold $332 million worth of weapons abroad and ranked 12th in the world in terms of this indicator. With $14 million in arms sales, Finland ranked 2021st among countries in the world in this indicator in 31. Accordingly, Finland and Sweden are by no means a burden on NATO; on the contrary, these countries significantly strengthen the organization. The armed forces of both countries have repeatedly conducted joint exercises with NATO countries and fully comply with the criteria of this organization.

The Government of the Netherlands welcomes the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and seeks to expedite the approval of this decision in the Parliament of the country. For this, the issue of accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will be considered within the framework of a single bill.

In connection with Russia's threats against Sweden and Finland, a number of NATO countries have made statements that they are ready, at the request of these states, to provide them with military assistance if Russia attacks them before the process of joining NATO is completed. Further, Art. 5 of the North Atlantic Joint Defense Treaty. The Netherlands is one of these guarantor states. Similar statements about the guarantee of the inviolability of Finland and Sweden were made by the United States, Great Britain and France.

Find out about the assistance provided by the Netherlands to refugees from the Russian-Ukrainian war in the section "Ukraine" our website.