On Tuesday, Finland became NATO’s 31st member, a historic realignment of Europe’s defenses that drew an angry warning of “countermeasures” from the Kremlin.
Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s Foreign Minister, formally concluded the process by handing over Helsinki’s accession papers to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the formal keeper of NATO’s founding treaty.
On 5 July 2022, NATO Allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol, following which all 30 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
“We welcome Finland to the Alliance!” exclaimed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handed over Finland’s instrument of accession to the US government, represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Following that, the Secretary General welcomed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to NATO Headquarters for a flag-raising ceremony to commemorate Finland’s accession to the Alliance.
The Secretary General thanked President Niinistö for his outstanding leadership and for leading Finland into the most successful Alliance in history, according to a NATO statement. “I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible,” he said.
“Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole,” he added. The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that President Putin failed to “slam NATO’s door shut.”
“Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.
The Secretary-General said: “Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an Ally. Your forces are substantial and highly capable, your resilience is second to none and for many years troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners. From today, we stand together as Allies.”
