In what would be a major boost to Finland and Sweden’s moves, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Minister for the Armed Forces have presented a bill to authorize the ratification of the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Finland and the ratification of the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Kingdom of Sweden, signed in Brussels on 5 July 2022.
According to the authority, the aim of ratifying these two accession protocols is to enable those countries to become the 31st and 32nd members of the Atlantic Alliance, following the membership applications officially submitted on 18 May.
It’s imperative to clarify that this development, when assented will enable Finland and Sweden to be covered by the obligation on allies to assist in the event of either of them being the target of an armed attack, in accordance with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Also, it will help strengthen the security and stability of the Baltic region and of European territory as a whole.
It’s germane to also note that given that Finland and Sweden are members of the European Union, their access to NATO will bolster the transatlantic link and the complementarity between the two organizations, which are essential to Europeans’ security.
In a statement, France’s Government said it “welcomes the consensus reached within the Alliance during the Madrid summit on welcoming Finland and Sweden as new members.”
It said this new enlargement of the Alliance is in line with the stipulations of Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty relating to the open-door policy. They state that any “European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area” may accede to the Treaty. The last enlargement dates back to 18 March 2020, when North Macedonia officially became a member of the Alliance.
It was also reported that “with the European security environmental profoundly affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, France would like Finland and Sweden – two very close European partners that share and uphold alongside us the principles of democracy, individual freedom and the rule of law – to be fully-fledged members of the Alliance as soon as possible.”
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