THE Sweden and the Finland must sign this Tuesday (5th) the protocols of adhesion to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) . The act must take place at the collegiate headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
During the NATO Summit in Madrid last week, Turkey agreed to the countries’ entry into the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Sweden and Finland of harboring Kurdish “terrorist organizations”.
Without the Turkish veto on the accession of the new candidates, the negotiations advanced, being closed this Monday (4) with the formal confirmation of the interest of the nations to join the group.
“Both countries formally confirmed their willingness and ability to fulfill the political, legal and military obligations and commitments of NATO membership,” the organization said in a statement.
The talks on Finland’s part were led by the Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen, while the Swedish delegation was led by Foreign Minister Ann Linde.
Monday’s meetings were chaired by NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Bettina Cadenbach.
Next steps
With the conclusion of the negotiations, the protocols should be signed this Tuesday.
After the formality, the documents will follow for ratification by each of the 30 NATO member states.
Afterwards, each candidate country will be formally invited to adhere to the Washington Treaty, the founding document of the alliance.
The process usually takes about a year, from the signing of the accession protocol by existing members, but as the war in Ukraine has added unprecedented urgency, the timeline can be accelerated.
Open doors
NATO has an “open door” policy and any country can be invited to participate if it expresses interest, as long as it is able and willing to uphold the principles of the bloc’s founding treaty.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said Monday at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev that her country would respect the policy.
“What I can say is that when we become members, we will support NATO’s open-door policy,” Andersson said.
The accession of Sweden and Finland marks an important step towards cementing NATO’s position, strengthening the bloc’s eastern flank months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Both countries have maintained neutral status for years, but support for NATO membership within the countries has increased since the start of the confrontation.
Andersson also said Sweden remains “open to new sanctions” against Russia.
“I think there are different opinions within the European Union about this being the right way now,” Andersson said, but added: “We are open to that.”
(With information from Júlia Vieira, Rob Iddiols, Rob Picheta and Joshua Berlinger of CNN)
Source: CNN Brasil
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