Finland Becomes 31st NATO State
Finnish foreign minister, US secretary of state, and Secretary General of NATO welcome Finland to NATO | Photo Credit: Johanna Geron/The Associated Press via The Guardian
Finland became the 31st-member state of NATO, when it received approval from all 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Apr. 4. Arranged by Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the announcement was made during a press conference on the morning of the agreement.
As reported by CBS News, the Nordic nations, including Finland, had not shown much interest in becoming involved with NATO until Russia invaded Ukraine. Finland had helped NATO for several years, but it was not officially aligned. However, the dangers of a non-official alliance soon showed its risks as the West refused to send troops for non-NATO member Ukraine to help it defend itself.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a May 2022 speech to French University Sciences Po, “If Ukraine had been part of NATO before the war, there would have been no war.” The imminent risk compelled Finland to join NATO, strengthening Western ties.
The role NATO plays on the world stage has been accentuated as the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second year.
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto at NATO headquarters in Brussels | Photo Credit: Geert van Wijngaert/The Associated Press via CBC
NATO has adopted a firm position in full support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory, along with its internationally recognized borders, whilst Russia continues to invade them. This created great tensions between not only Russia, NATO, and Ukraine but also tensions between the two major powers in the world: Russia and the US.
The Finnish Parliament approved the treaty on Mar. 1 with a majority of 184 votes to 7. Traditional opposition to NATO membership in Finland has been from The Left Alliance Party, however, only six members out of the 16 elected voted against it. Support from the Finnish population is overwhelming; according to CBS, 80 per cent support NATO membership, compared to the approximate 25 per cent support from the population before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Supporters maintained that the world would be much more secure with the help of NATO in this increasingly uncertain world. Sauli Niinistö, the President of Finland and supporter of NATO stated to BBC News, “Security and stability are those elements which we feel very strongly; if people can live in secure stable circumstances that's the basic element of happy life.”
The Finnish entry into NATO is a historic move, as Finland has not aligned itself militarily since World War II. This agreement is serving as a model for Sweden, who applied to NATO in May 2022 along with Finland. Sweden’s application is currently being blocked by Turkey and Hungary.