Finland joins Nato as defense alliance expands northward

BLOOMBERG

Finland became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), completing a tumultuous process of accession sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that upended the European security landscape.
In a bittersweet moment, Finland gained Article 5 security guarantees and deterrence, but was forced to leave its close neighbour Sweden behind on the doorstep of the Nato.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handed Finland’s accession document to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels on Tuesday, marking its formal entry into the alliance’s fold. Nato foreign ministers will celebrate the accession with a flag-raising ceremony later in the day.
“We can now declare that Finland is the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty,” Blinken said.
The accession of just one of the two Nordic countries will make the alliance’s northern enlargement incomplete as Nato seeks to boost its presence in the Arctic, with the High North area’s significance increasing, as well as to gain more clout in the Baltic Sea.
“Finland becomes safer by belonging to an an alliance where we guarantee the security of all allies,” Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. “By becoming a full-fledged member we are removing the room for miscalculation in Moscow about Nato’s readiness to protect Finland and that makes Finland safer and Nato stronger.”
Finland’s addition will bring Nato more than 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) of border with Russia, doubling its eastern flank, and a nation that’s already prepared to defend itself in case of an all-out war. For the Finnish military, membership is a culmination of years of ever-closer cooperation, with gear used by the defense forces already compatible with that of the alliance.
The push to join Nato was triggered by Russia’s attack on a neighbouring country, Ukraine, leading to a U-turn in public opinion on membership as Finns concluded that could also happen to them.
As a full member, Finland can benefit from Article 5 mutual defense commitments — meaning allies are bound to come to its aid if it’s under attack — and the Nordic country will have to be ready to defend other allies, too.
Finland is able to deploy 280,000 troops in wartime from a trained reserve of just short of a million.
When announcing the decision to file an application in May 2022, Prime Minister Sanna Marin called it “an act of peace so that there would never again be war in Finland.”
Finland’s military equipment boasts a large number of artillery and tanks. It’s also awaiting delivery of 64 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A multi-role fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of F/A-18 Hornets.