{"id":136713,"date":"2022-04-14T21:34:46","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T21:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/04\/14\/finland-and-sweden-pursue-unlinked-nato-membership\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:24:08","slug":"finland-and-sweden-pursue-unlinked-nato-membership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/04\/14\/finland-and-sweden-pursue-unlinked-nato-membership\/","title":{"rendered":"Finland and Sweden pursue unlinked NATO membership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HELSINKI \u2014 Finland and Sweden have chosen to pursue separate tracks and speeds to advance their interests in joining NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finland had indicated it would prefer a solution that would see the two Nordic unaligned states \u201cjump together\u201d into NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Sweden has decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2022\/03\/04\/finland-and-sweden-may-take-unhurried-route-to-nato-membership\/\">examine<\/a> a range of security-related options, including deepening Nordic defense cooperation and urging the European Union to develop enhanced defense policies to offer greater military protection to EU member states that border the highly sensitive Baltic Sea and High North regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike Sweden, the Finnish government has set the wheels in motion to fast-track its application to join NATO against the backdrop of heightened security tensions in the region elevated by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prime Minister Sanna Marin told opposition party leaders, the majority of whom back the government on this issue, that she expects a decision on NATO membership soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRussia\u2019s invasion of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2022\/03\/04\/nato-brings-finland-sweden-on-board-for-all-ukraine-conflict-discussions\/\">Ukraine<\/a> has caused Finland to review our security strategy,\u201d Marin said at a joint press conference in Stockholm on April 13 hosted by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. \u201cI won\u2019t offer any kind of timetable as to when we will make our decision, but I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months. The security landscape has completely changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Noting enhanced defense cooperation with Finland, Andersson said Sweden and Finland can be expected to decide whether to apply for NATO membership independently and on different timetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Swedish government is expected to deliver its National Security Report to the Riksdag, the country\u2019s legislature, before May 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we need to do is to carefully think through what is in the best long-term interests of Sweden, and what we need to do to guarantee our national security, our sovereignty and secure peace in this new heightened tension and situation,\u201d said Andersson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finland is expected to reach a decision on joining NATO before the Alliance\u2019s two-day summit meeting slated to commence in Madrid on June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The existing partner status of Sweden and Finland, within their cooperation framework with the alliance, means that neither country is covered under NATO\u2019s Article 5, which considers a hostile attack against one member state to be an attack against all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sarin government presented its updated Defense and Security Risk report to the Eduskuna, Finland\u2019s legislature, on April 13. The report, which set out the pros and cons of joining NATO, serves as the opening salvo in a new national debate to join NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report outlined the \u201cfundamental changes\u201d Finland would be required to make to its foreign and security policies in order to join the military alliance. It identified the main benefits of joining NATO to include security guarantees embedded in the mutual-defense pledge as well as increased security cooperation through the alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The risks and disadvantages listed by the report included the potential for a hugely negative reaction by Russia if Finland decides to join NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Finland and Sweden become Nato members, the threshold for using military force in the Baltic Sea region would rise, which would enhance the stability of the region in the long term,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finland\u2019s trepidation over a hostile response from the Kremlin was confirmed on April 14 when Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia\u2019s security council, signaled that Russia would abandon its nuclear-free-zone policy for the Baltic Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRussia would need to bolster its defenses in the Baltic Sea region. This would include the deployment of nuclear weapons, if Finland and Sweden were to join NATO. In this situation, there could be no more talk of any nuclear\u2013free status for the Baltics &#8211; the balance must be restored,\u201d said Medvedev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a poll run by the Finnish Business Policy and Forum (FBPF), released on April 12, some 84% of Finns considered Russia to pose a \u201csignificant military threat\u201d to Finland and a constant threat to Europe and Baltic Sea and the High North regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A March poll conducted by the FBPF found that a record 60% of Finns favored joining NATO, compared to 26% in October 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finland and Sweden joined NATO\u2019s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 1994 and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997. The militarily unaligned Nordic states are designated \u201cmost active partners\u201d by NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweden has contributed to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo, and NATO Mission Iraq. For its part, Finland has contributed to NATO-led operations and missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweden and Finland are among six countries, known as Enhanced Opportunity Partners under the Partnership Interoperability Initiative, that contribute to NATO operations and other alliance projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finland had indicated it would prefer a solution that would see the two Nordic unaligned states \u201cjump together\u201d into 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