The head of state remarked that Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance was of historical importance to the Nordic-Baltic region and would make NATO stronger than ever before. “Finland and Sweden’s accession will give the alliance a particularly strong presence in the Baltic Sea region, bolster NATO security generally and increase the level of protection that we all enjoy,” President Karis said. “It will also mean that cooperation in our corner of the alliance can be taken to a completely new level, and not just in the area of security, but across a wide range of fields.”
President Karis expressed his hope that the accession protocols would be quickly ratified by all NATO members so that Finland and Sweden would soon join their number.
The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership on 18 May. The heads of state and government of NATO members officially invited the Finns and Swedes to join the alliance at the NATO summit in Madrid last week, with the accession protocols signed in Brussels on 5 July. All member states of the alliance must ratify the protocols in order for accession to go ahead. Estonia became one of the first countries to do so when the Riigikogu ratified the protocols on 6 July on the proposal of the government.
