The authorities of Finland have made an announcement about its plans to apply for NATO membership after months of speculation, with the move breaking decades of military neutrality. This announcement was made during the press conference on Sunday.
The Prime Minister, Sanna Marin and the President, Sauli Niinist, declared that Finland is officially looking to be a part of NATO on Sunday afternoon.
Moreover, the Finnish leaders are persevering with the move despite the ongoing threats from the Kremlin.
The step that has been taken is a direct response to Russia’s full-scale military operation in Ukraine, which it feels has changed its security situation. Finland is seeking to bolster its defence guarantees with the West, claiming it has a right to “maximise its security” as most nations would.
Along with this, ahead of an official bid to the US-led military alliance, the movie will first require to be ratified by the Finnish parliament. “We hope that the parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO membership,” Prime Minister Narin mentioned in the statement.
She claimed the step would be put to the vote as well as will be based on a strong mandate and that throughout the decision process, Finland has been in close contact with the government of NATO member states and NATO itself.
Prime Minister Narin stated, “We are close partners to NATO, but it is a historic decision that we will join NATO, and hopefully, we are making the decisions together.”
Furthermore, once an official bid has been put in, it will take some months before it is ratified. That means that Article 5 of the charter on collective defence will not be applicable until an official confirmation as members of NATO.
Meanwhile, under the treaty, collective defence means that “an attack against one Ally is considered as an attack against all Allies”.
