Thursday, March 28

Erdogan approves Finland’s entry into NATO


Finland yes, Sweden not yet. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given Helsinki the green light to join NATO. Erdogan called on the Turkish parliament to approve Finland’s offer to join NATO, during a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Ankara on Friday.

Turkey has “decided to ratify the process of Finland’s accession to NATO in our parliament”, he said, after judging that Finland has taken “authentic and concrete measures” a few words in which he alluded to Sweden, still pending Turkish reluctance.

Erdogan thus waived his blockade against the expansion of NATO to the north, at least in part. “We still have to think about Sweden”, he said, to which the Turkish government accuses Sweden of not acting harshly enough against Kurdish groups, which it considers terrorist organizations. Niinistö has warned for his part that Finland’s membership would not be complete without Sweden’s.

The calendar, at least for Finland, is becoming clearer. The Turkish parliament could ratify Finland’s accession protocol in mid-April, when it will close its doors to make way for parliamentary elections on May 14. Hungary has also announced that it would ratify Finland’s membership on March 27, the leader of the ruling Fidesz party’s parliamentary group, Mate Kocsis, announced on his Facebook page.

Your group will vote in favor and decide later on the ratification of Sweden’s accession. During a visit to Chancellor Olaf Scholz last Wednesday, Swedish Prime Minister ulf kristersson He confirmed that his country is also prepared for the possibility of Finland moving forward in the process, although he would prefer joint accession. He expects Turkey’s yes “after the May elections.” Scholz emphasized for his part that Germany wants to quickly see the two Nordic countries in NATO. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom commented this afternoon that “it’s about when Sweden will become a member, not whether or not it will join.”

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nordic defense agency

In view of the fact that the process could take longer and in order to plan a common defense policy in the Nordic countries, Finland and Sweden have decided that security issues should be more embedded in the daily work of the two parliaments, including the creation of a Nordic security and defense agency. SAMAK, the Cooperation Committee of the Nordic Social Democratic parties and unions, was organized by Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and attended its first meeting earlier this month by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, former Swedish Prime Minister , Magdalena Andersson, and the vice president of the Icelandic social organization Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson, as well as the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenbergformer Norwegian Prime Minister and aware of these steps.

“Us [la OTAN] we represent half of the world’s military power and half of the world’s economic power, and we provide security guarantees like no other: one for all and all for one. Gathering the Nordic family around the NATO table will make Finland and Sweden more secure, our Alliance stronger and the entire Euro-Atlantic area more secure,” Stoltenberg said in his speech, in which he blessed this fait accompli of joining NATO. margin of the ordinary procedure.

Another reason for this organizing push is that the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO will probably increase the importance of the Nordic countries in Europe, a move that would imply greater responsibility in all European foreign and security policy. Stoltenberg reiterated his optimism and noted that the intensification of negotiations would allow both countries to soon become members of the military alliance. Looking to the future, particularly China, Stoltenberg said the West must not repeat its mistakes with Russia. “What happens today in Europe, can happen tomorrow in Asia,” he said, in a thinly veiled reference to China-Taiwan relations.

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