Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced, on Thursday 12 May, their support for their country’s membership of NATO (see EUROPE 12931/9).
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay”, they said in a joint statement. According to them, “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance”. They said they hoped that the national steps still needed to take the decision to apply for membership of the Atlantic Alliance “will be taken rapidly within the next few days”.
There is now strong support among the Finnish population for such an accession: about 70% are said to be in favour, a support that has increased strongly in recent months. It was 20-30% before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The majority of Finnish MPs are also said to be in favour of this rapprochement with NATO.
This process is being done in close cooperation with Sweden, which may also apply for membership of the Alliance in the coming days or weeks.
No immediate military threat
At a hearing in the European Parliament on Thursday morning, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto explained that the Russian invasion had altered the European and Finnish security environment.
“However, we are not facing an immediate military threat”, he said. The minister added that in the face of certain threats, particularly nonconventional ones, the protection provided by EU membership was not enough. For this reason, Finland is considering other types of membership.
Mr Haavisto said he believes that his country is ready to join the Alliance. “Finland has a strong democratic past that meets the objectives of NATO membership and has a credible and strong defence that is interoperable with NATO”, he stated, adding that his country would be “an added value for NATO”. Finland has 280,000 soldiers and 900,000 reservists.
Moreover, according to a Western source, this year Helsinki will meet the target of spending 2% of its national GDP on defence. “After the (Russian) invasion, the government decided to increase military spending”, the source explained.
Asked by MEPs about the transition period between NATO membership and actual membership in terms of security, Mr Haavisto said he had spoken with EU members about the support Finland could receive. “For example, Article 42.7 (TEU) could be invoked” in case of problems, he explained. This article deals with the mutual defence clause.
On Wednesday 11 May, Finland and the UK signed an agreement on mutual assistance.
The minister, however, was reassuring. “We are not expecting anything but we are prepared for everything”, he said, adding that his country was ready on land, air, sea and cyber. He called for the full support of the EU and the Member States regarding these threats. “Whatever the type of surprise, we have to be ready”, he added.
According to a Western source, Finland has so far not witnessed any action to counter a possible accession, adding that there was no active military threat against Helsinki. According to this source, most of the Russian military units that were on the Russian-Finnish border, which is more than 1,300 km long, have been sent to Ukraine.
“Even if Russia wanted to do something ‘dramatic’, it does not have the resources to do so”, the source said. However, the source acknowledged that in recent weeks Finland had faced cyber attacks and two violations of its territorial integrity by Russian aircraft.
Although not a member, Helsinki already has a close partnership with NATO. Since 2014, it has been one of the six ‘Enhanced Opportunity Partners’, a status that offers opportunities for dialogue and cooperation with the Allies. At the start of the war in Ukraine, Finland, Sweden and NATO also declared an arrangement that would allow for a more in-depth exchange of information and more regular participation by both countries in Alliance meetings on Russia.
A welcomed announcement
Several Western political leaders, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and European Council President Charles Michel, welcomed the announcement by the Finnish President and Prime Minister.
“Should Finland decide to apply, they would be fully welcomed into NATO and the accession process would be smooth and swift”, Mr Stoltenberg said in a statement, claiming that membership would strengthen both Finland’s and the Alliance’s security.
For Mr Michel, the Finnish leaders’ declaration, once implemented, would be “a historic step (...) that will greatly contribute to European security”. “With Russia waging war in Ukraine, it’s a powerful signal of deterrence”, he added.
See NATO’s page on cooperation with Finland: https://aeur.eu/f/1lw (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Thomas Mangin)