Sweden and Finland have agreed to simultaneously apply for membership in the US-led NATO alliance in the middle of next month, Scandinavian media reported.
The Finnish daily Iltalehti said on Monday that Stockholm had “offered both sides to show their willingness to join” on the same day and that Helsinki had agreed “while the Swedish government has made its decision”.
The Swedish newspaper Expressen quoted government sources as confirming the report. The two prime ministers said this month that they were discussing the issue, arguing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed Europe’s “overall security landscape” and “dramatic thinking” in the Nordic region.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at the time that her country, which shares a 1,300km (810-mile) border with Russia, would decide whether to apply to join the alliance “fairly quickly, in weeks, not months”, despite the risk. from enraged Moscow.
Her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Anderson, said Sweden must be “prepared for any action by Russia” and that “everything has changed” when Moscow invaded Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly warned both sides against the move.
The Kremlin has said it will be forced to “restore the military balance” by strengthening its defenses in the Baltic Sea, including by deploying nuclear weapons, if the two countries decide to give up decades of military non-alignment by joining NATO.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde said last week that a comprehensive review of security policy would be completed by 13 May, not 31 May, as originally planned, adding that an analysis of Finland’s already published analysis “now puts a lot of pressure”.
The Express said simultaneous applications could be submitted during the week of May 16th, coinciding with Finnish President Sauli Niiniste’s state visit to Stockholm. The Guardian could not confirm the reports on its own.
Recent opinion polls show that about 68% of Finns are in favor of joining the alliance, more than double the pre-invasion figure, with only 12% opposed. Surveys in Sweden show that a small majority of Swedes also support membership.
Both countries are officially non-military, but have become NATO partners – participating in exercises and exchanging intelligence – after abandoning their former position of strict neutrality when they joined the EU in 1995 after the end of the Cold War.
Add Comment