Turkey’s Erdogan greenlights Finland’s entry into NATO, but Sweden still waits

Turkey will ratify Finland’s membership to NATO. This will accelerate a significant enhancement of the transatlantic alliance, despite the diplomatic blockade that still hinders Sweden’s inclusion.

“We have decided to start the protocol of Finland’s accession to NATO in our Parliament,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday.

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This decision is one of the last steps in a watershed moment for Finland and European security policies. Helsinki had abandoned its historic neutrality after Russia launched a campaign against the Ukrainian government. The shift will see NATO’s largest militaries integrated into the alliance, but Erdogan’s announcement presents a mixed bag for transatlantic diplomats as he continues to block Sweden from applying.

“Although we welcome today’s decision made by Türkiye to formally ratify Finland’s accession protocol, Türkiye’s decision to decouple Finland’s NATO membership bid from Sweden is disappointing and unnecessary,” Friday’s statements were made by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D–NH) and Senator Thom Tillis(R-NC), co-chairs of Senate NATO Observer Group. “Sweden and Finland will bring unique capabilities to the Alliance that will better enable us to meet today’s challenges and tomorrow’s threats.”

Last year, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in tandem. They hoped that this would lead to a rapid accession process. Erdogan put a halt to those hopes. Erdogan demanded that they lift arms embargoes in response to Erdogan’s attack on Syrian Kurdish militants. Erdogan also demanded that they exile Turkish Kurds Erdogan believes are linked to a Turkish terrorist organization.

Finland was able to make Erdogan more comfortable than Sweden, despite the fact that both countries had negotiated a deal. “trilateral memorandum” The allies sought to resolve the controversies with the help of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“The most important thing is that both Finland and Sweden become full members of NATO quickly, not whether they join at exactly the same time,” Stoltenberg said Friday. “Last year’s decision to invite both Finland and Sweden has fundamentally strengthened their relationship with NATO. As a consequence, their security is much enhanced.”

Turkey and Hungary have joined Turkey in refusing to ratify the Nordic application. Viktor Orban (Hungarian Prime Minister) recently linked the delay to a dispute over Hungary’s acces to European Union funds that Brussels had frozen. He cited corruption in Budapest. Orban implied that he would not approve their applications if they support the EU censure.

“The Senate NATO Observer Group is concerned by Hungary’s decision to delay the vote ratifying Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession bid,” Shaheen and Tillis stated. “We call on Hungary and Türkiye to fulfill their obligations to the transatlantic family and vote on both accession protocols without further delay. In particular, Hungary should stop exploiting Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession protocols to its own benefit.”

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Neither Sweden nor Finland can invoke the Article 5 provision that requires the allies to treat an attack on all — unless and until their applications are ratified by both Hungary and Turkey. Stoltenberg, on the other hand, highlighted the benefits of their inclusion while stressing that NATO allies would support either nation in a crisis.

“They are sitting around NATO’s table, integrating into our political and military structures, exercising more with Allies,” He said. “Both countries have received bilateral security assurances from many NATO countries, including the US, UK, Germany, and France. So it is inconceivable that NATO would not respond should either Finland or Sweden come under attack. Their security matters to NATO.”