Less than a year after sending their application.
On April 4, 2023, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization welcomed its 31st member state, Finland. In a symbolic ceremony outside the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the Finnish flag was raised for the first time. There, the country joins the likes of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany, among others.
Finland’s accession to NATO is also the fastest in the organization’s history. The country first submitted their application back in May 2022, three months after the onset of Russia-Ukraine crisis. Like Ukraine, Finland is shares a land border with Russia. Due to the crisis, thousands of Russians have also been documented to have fled to Finland.
In June 2022, Finland and fellow Nordic country Sweden were formally invited by other NATO members to join the club through the signing of a accession protocol. Initially, both countries were bundled together, but later on, the proceedings were separated, with the membership of both countries deliberated independently.
After initial objections, the Turkish parliament finally gave the nod to Finland’s membership in the organization. That development paved the way for Finland’s entrance to the club officially on Tuesday.
Due to this, The Kremlin has said that they will do counter-measures, such as intensifying their military in the western and northwestern regions, which are near the Finnish-Russian border — with the Russian capital St. Petersburg is only more than 100 km east of Finland.
As for Finland’s first move inside NATO, they have ratified the accession of Sweden into the organization.