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Finland - NATO

Finland will officially become the 31st member of NATO on Tuesday, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced in a statement on 03 April 2023. “This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. “From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance,” he said, adding that “it will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.”

The move came just three days after Turkish President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed ratification of the Nordic country’s passage into the organization. It ends a protracted accession process that began last summer when Finland and Sweden abandoned their traditional position of neutrality and applied to join NATO, citing concerns of possible Russian aggression. Türkiye had objected to the bids by Helsinki and Stockholm citing their alleged support of “terrorist groups.”

The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on 05 July 2022, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals, which were expected to take betewen 6 and 12 months. Both countries formally confirmed their willingness and ability to meet the political, legal and military obligations and commitments of NATO membership. Canada became the first country to ratify the Accession Protocols of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. The move further increased Russia's strategic isolation in the wake of its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February. Finland came into the alliance with the 2nd or 3rd largest artillery force in Europe (behind Russia and Ukraine), a new fleet of F-35 fighters, and an excellent defence system that sees them fielding more than 200,000 troops in case of war.

Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) long border with Russia, and Moscow has strongly opposed its membership in NATO. The Finnish War (1808-1809) resulted in Sweden losing Finland to the Russian Empire, and , the autonomous Grand Principality of Finland was proclaimed. Shortly after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, the Finnish parliament proclaimed independence. Neutral Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939 and fought two wars against it during the course of World War II. It ultimately lost large chunks of the eastern Karelia province to the Soviet Union and had to pay reparations.

As expected, Finland's parliament approved NATO bid with an overwhelming majority. 188 for, 8 against, 3 abstained. The vote came after two days of parliamentary debate, during which the foreign affairs committee said that "Russia's long-standing aggressive policies and the goal of dividing Europe into new spheres of influence took on a new dimension after the country's invasion of Ukraine." It added "Failure to respond would lead to a narrowing of Finland's foreign, security and defense policy".

Among the small group of Finnish lawmakers opposing the application was the Left Alliance's Markus Mustajarvi, who said Finland's border would become "the border between the military alliance and Russia." He said "New tensions would not be a risk only during the application process but rather a new and permanent condition of our foreign and security policy".

Finland officially announced its intention of joining the NATO military alliance. During a cabinet meeting on 15 May 2022, President Sauli Niinistö and ministers “agreed that Finland would apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),” a government statement read. Finnish accession to the US-led bloc would require the unanimous approval of the existing 30 member states, including Turkey, which has suggested it could veto the move. A report on Finland’s planned membership will be submitted to the national parliament once it’s endorsed at a government plenary session, the statement went on to say.

Turkey had earlier expressed its objections to Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling the two Nordic countries “guesthouses for terrorist organizations.” He was referring to the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front (DHKP/C), which have been outlawed in his country. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, however, said he is sure the bloc will be able to overcome Turkey’s reservations.

Political leaders in Sweden and Finland gave signals that the two traditionally neutral Nordic countries might move closer to seeking NATO membership in the face of Russian aggression in the region. Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine prompted the two countries to consider potentially joining NATO, although Finland -- with a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia -- has shown more urgency on the matter. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 saw public support for joining NATO double from 30 to 60 percent, according to a series of polls.

In Finland, the leadership council of the Center Party -- a government coalition partner -- said it would support moves by the government to pursue NATO membership based on the new security situation in the region. The Center Party has traditionally sought nonalignment status in military matters. However, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, opinion polls have indicated that a majority of Center Party members support Finland joining the Western alliance.

Helsinki has said it would clarify its next steps by this spring -- meaning mid-June -- regarding a possible decision to seek membership. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who has not expressed an opinion, told Yle on 09 April 2022 that, since the security situation could worsen, a decision had to be made soon. Marin said her goal was that Finland and Sweden reach similar decisions at about the same time.

Sweden's and Finland's foreign politics and security measures are tightly bound. Both countries, however, have boosted their bilateral and international cooperation with NATO and the USA, while at the same time carefully avoiding formally applying for membership. In reality, both Sweden and Finland stopped being neutral years ago. They both participate in NATO exercises, commit troops to its rapid-reaction force, took part in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, joined the international operation in Afghanistan and, in the case of the "ever-neutral" Sweden, even got involved in the 2011 air war in Libya. Finland and Sweden are already part of NATO in all but name.

Finland along with Sweden joined the NATO summit in Warsaw on 8-9 July 2016 as non-aligned states. In May 2016 and in June, Finland and Sweden’s foreign and defense ministers took part, for the first time ever, in NATO ministerial talks in Brussels. Finland kept the option of NATO membership alive, and participates in NATO-led military drills.

Finland may consider joining NATO when the need to defend its national security arises, however, the current Finish defense strategy does not include any timetable or procedures for joining the Alliance, Finland's Defense Committee Chairman Ilkka Kanerva told Sputnik on 03 July 2016. "I am the man who was formulating the text of government's foreign and security policy program and, of course, we have a very clear commitment of the government to continue our partnership with NATO and in case it would be necessary for Finland in the name of its own security, we may to consider a membership as a possibility," Kanerva, who is also the President of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), said on the sidelines of ongoing OSCE PA meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Kanerva noted that the current Finish defense strategy did not not suggest the possibility of joining NATO. "No timetable or procedures of that sort are included in our strategy at the moment but it is our option," the official added. "The security environment in Europe is not too solid. We need to make our own preparations for defending our own territory, our own integrity, our own independence in every way. Our own national defense system must be secured in various ways and that is why it is important for us to look at what is going on at the Baltic Sea area and recognize that increased military activities is very clear signals that tension has increased in the Baltic Sea," Kanerva said.

In April 2016 Finland's president Sauli Niinistö cited Russia's "military activity" in the Baltic region as the primary reason for the Nordic countries' need for closer cooperation with NATO. At the same time, Niinistö stressed that Finland's stability is predicated on national defense, Western integration as well as stable relations with Russia. Meanwhile, the US Ambassador to Finland Charles Adams Jr. said that NATO's door remains open for Finland. "We are currently leaving room for maneuver," Niinistö said, as if answering the unasked question about the prospects for Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

Finnish European Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb said 17 April 2014 that as a minister he can not advocate joining NATO, but if elected to the European Parliament in May 2014, he would do all he can to push Finland to join the alliance. “NATO membership would increase security and the influence of Finland in security policy,” Stabb told Finnish news outlet Aamulehti.

As a government minister Stubb has had to speak the Cabinet's line on the issue, which avoiding the topic, but as a MEP he can back the cause. “I will advocate membership as long as it is sensible, regardless what the polls show. For me it is a question of values,” said Stubb, who pointed out that 94 percent of the EU's population is in NATO. Stubb could become the country's new prime minister in the summer after Jyrki Katainen, the current PM, resigns. The leader of the National Coalition Party, the party of both Katainen and Stubb, will name the new PM.

A poll conducted from 11-22 March 2014 by TNS Gallup and commissioned by Verkkouutiset and Nykypäiva found that 53 percent of Finns would be in favor of joining NATO if their leadership decided accordingly. Only 34 percent were against and 12 percent were undecided. But a poll by marketing research company Taloustutkimus found that only one in four Finns felt Russia could be a threat to Finland's security in the future. The poll shows that despite the events in Ukraine, Finnish attitudes had not changed much in the past 12 months.

During a meeting with Finnish President Niinisto on 01 July 2016, the two leaders engaged in a "frank" discussion on how best to ensure peace in the region leading to historic steps by both sides. If Finland were to join NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country would be forced to reposition its troops to guard against the specter of NATO hostility. "If Finland enters NATO, that means that Finnish soldiers would have stopped being independent, stopped being sovereign in the full sense of the word, they become part of the military infrastructure of NATO, which will in an instant find itself on the borders of Russia," explained Putin.

The Russian President went on to note that Russian troops currently observe a considerable distance from the Finnish border in a show of respect, but in the event of NATO accession he asked, "Do you think we’d still act that way?" The frank conversation between the friendly countries ultimately yielded progress with Russian Putin urging Finnish voters to have a referendum on whether or not to join NATO saying "turn to London, they will show you."