“New Era” As Finland Officially Joins NATO
Finland officially joined NATO on Tuesday, with the raising of the Finnish national flag at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels marking the arrival of NATO’s 31st member, 74 years to the day of the alliance’s founding.
The flag-raising ceremony followed the depositing of Finland’s instrument of accession to NATO, with Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto depositing the document with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken. With Finland formally a NATO member after the deposition, Haavisto then delivered Finland’s ratification of Sweden’s membership of NATO to Blinken, describing the move as Finland’s “first act as a member state”.
In a speech prior to the first-ever raising of Finland’s flag outside NATO headquarters, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg noted that Finland’s accession had been the fastest in the alliance’s modern history. “Finland now has the strongest friends and allies in the world”, said Stoltenberg. “President Putin wanted to slam NATO’s door shut. Today, we show the world that he failed. That aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite. More NATO. And our door remains firmly open.”
Finnish President Sauli Niisto described Finland’s end of military non-alignment and NATO membership as a “new era”, with membership strengthening Finland’s international position and room for maneuver. Niisto stated that there remained “considerable” work to be done to integrate the Finnish Defense Forces into the alliance, and it was “clear” that Finland’s most significant contribution to NATO’s collective deterrence and defense was through the security and defense of Finnish territory. “In this respect, the Finnish concept of comprehensive security retains its value. But we no longer do this work alone”, said Niisto.
Niisto reiterated in his speech that Finland’s membership was “not complete without that of Sweden”. “Our persistent efforts for a rapid Swedish membership will continue. I look forward to seeing Sweden join us as the thirty-second member at the Vilnius Summit in July”.