Finland has been accepted as NATO’s 31st member state. – Fantastic to be here, says President Sauli Niinistö in Brussels. The new member state has already received a flagpole in front of the main entrance to NATO’s multibillion-dollar building in north-east Brussels. Here, the flags of all the member states are raised in a row, in alphabetical order by their names in English. The Finnish one will go right up between the flags of Estonia and France. – From today, 31 flags are raised together. It is a symbol of unity. Joining NATO is good for Finland, good for Nordic security and good for NATO as a whole, says Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference together with the Finnish president. – This is a big day for Finland. This is a process from 30 to 31 – and very soon to 32. We are working very hard for Swedish membership, says Niinistö. Approved Sweden The entry itself became formal at 2:40 p.m. when Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handed over the country’s signed accession documents to his US colleague Antony Blinken. Finland has also already made its first effort as a NATO member – in that Haavisto immediately submitted Finland’s ratification of Sweden’s application for membership to Blinken. The actual decision about it was already taken in advance by the Finnish Riksdag on March 1. Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström (M) congratulates the neighbors in the east. – We only feel joy, of course. Now we get to see our sister and brother country become a member of NATO. It is good for their security and good for us, says Billström, who is also present in Brussels for today’s NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting, in accordance with Sweden’s status as a prospective member – “invitee” in English. In the player above: Jens Stoltenberg comments on the status of Sweden’s NATO application.
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Finland officially joins NATO
