Finland’s road to becoming a NATO member started fast last spring and summer, but the pace slowed down in the fall. Now the researchers dare to say that the final curve is finally looming.
Finland’s NATO membership took a huge leap forward today when the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey will start the ratification of Finland’s membership.
In Turkey, the president has a lot of power. When Erdoğan says this, the parliament hardly utters a word. Ratification can be quick, as Turkey’s May parliamentary elections are fast approaching, and the current parliament will be on recess within a month.
So it could very well be that this was Finally here. Finland can officially be a member of NATO even within a month, if everything goes well, Research Doctor at the Institute of Foreign Policy Iro Sarkkä says.
– If everything goes quickly, Hungary will ratify Finland’s membership in a couple of weeks, and Turkey possibly within a couple of weeks as well. In Finland, the president will confirm the NATO law next Thursday, Särkkä estimates.
When every NATO country has ratified Finland’s membership, the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg invites Finland to join the basic agreement of the military alliance. Then Finland deposits the agreement with the US government in Washington DC, and is a full member of NATO.
Before today, 28 out of 30 member countries had ratified Finland’s NATO membership.
– The final stretch has now concretely started regarding Finland’s NATO membership, you could almost say the last kilometer of the marathon, says Särkkä.
It is difficult to come up with anything that could delay the progress of Finland’s membership, says a senior researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy Toni Alaranta.
Sweden is still waiting in NATO’s wind closet
The president of the Republic Sauli Niinistö revealed at a press conference together with Erdoğan that Sweden cannot be forgotten. Sweden has to get Niinistö to join NATO soon.
From Turkey’s point of view, Finland can be more on the same wavelength as Sweden, because, for example, legislation in Finland is more conservative. Because of that, maybe it has been easier for Turkey to accept Finland, Särkkä reflects.
– Finland’s reputation was not tarnished by individual incidents during the winter, such as the Koran burning in Sweden in January. In Finland, it would have been an act punishable under the Criminal Code, but not in Sweden. We have different laws, Sweden is just a more liberal country than Finland. Even Sweden can’t drag its own legislation indefinitely, says Särkkä.
You can discuss the topic until Saturday 18.3. until 11 p.m.