Finland and Sweden move closer to Nato membership

world
Finland And Sweden Move Closer To Nato Membership
Sanna Marin and Sauli Niinisto, © AP/Press Association Images
Share this article

By Associated Press

Finland’s president and government have announced the Nordic country intends to apply for membership of Nato, paving the way for the 30-member Western military alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki on Sunday.

Advertisement


Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has previously been a neutral country.

Advertisement

Mr Niinisto said: “This is a historic day. A new era begins.”


Sauli Niinisto
Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto described it has a ‘historic day’ (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtiuva via AP)

The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days, but it is considered a formality.

Advertisement

A formal membership application will then be submitted to Nato headquarters in Brussels, most likely at some point next week.

Sweden also moved a step closer to applying for NATO membership after the governing Social Democratic party backed joining the trans-Atlantic alliance.

“At its meeting today, the Social Democrats’ party board has decided that the party will work for Sweden to apply for membership in NATO,” the party said in a statement.

The plan to join the alliance will be discussed in Sweden’s parliament on Monday, and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Cabinet will make an announce later that day.

Advertisement

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com