Finland and Sweden officially signed the protocol to join NATO
According to the NATO Charter, the admission of new members needs to receive the approval of all 30 current member states of the alliance, through the negotiation process with a lot of procedures.
Normally, the admission of new members usually takes about 8-12 months, but NATO is looking to speed up the process.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the 30 NATO members had signed the protocol to enrol Sweden and Finland as a historic moment.
On July 5, NATO’s 30 member states signed a protocol to enrol Sweden and Finland, the alliance’s most significant expansion since the mid-1990s.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was a historic moment. He stressed that with 32 members, NATO will become stronger.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, for her part, said the ratification process by each NATO member would officially begin.
The signing of the protocol means that Finland and Sweden can participate in NATO meetings and gain deeper access to intelligence, but will not be protected under NATO’s terms of defense until the accession process is fully ratified.
On July 4, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde and her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto began talks with NATO, formally kicking off the process of joining the alliance.
The talks were held after Turkey, a NATO member, stopped opposing the move.
A NATO summit in Madrid last week formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after Turkey made concessions.
