Finland becomes 31st NATO country | Rhewal

The national flags of member states outside NATO’s headquarters in Brussels (April 3, 2023) (Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)

Finland’s flag will be raised outside NATO’s headquarters on Tuesday when this country becomes the youngest member of the Western alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

“We welcome Finland tomorrow as the 31st member,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a historic meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s occupation of Ukraine last year threatened European security and forced Finland, and its neighbor Sweden, to abandon decades of non-alignment and seek Nato’s protective umbrella.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance that came into existence with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. The organization established a system of common defense where the member states agree to defend each other in case of an attack by an external party. This treaty established a military alliance that would later become the Western European Union.

Objections from Turkey and Hungary delayed Helsinki’s application for months and Stockholm remains blocked. The parliament in Ankara last week removed the last obstacle from Finland’s way with a vote.

However, the completion within a year means it is the fastest membership process in the alliance’s recent history. All that remains now are the final highly choreographed formalities at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels.

Finland’s foreign minister will hand over the formal documents to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The US Secretary of State is the holder of NATO’s founding agreement and the country’s blue and white flag will then be raised next to its new allies. Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto will also deliver a speech.

“Pres. Putin went to war against Ukraine with the aim of getting less from NATO,” Stoltenberg added. “He is now getting the exact opposite.”