SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson (left) walks with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (right) prior to an April 13, 2022 meeting in Stockholm on whether to seek NATO membership. (Photo: Paul Wennerholm/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
Sweden and Finland Will Simultaneously Apply to Join NATO: Reports
As recently as last month, Sweden's center-left prime minister rejected calls to join the transatlantic alliance, saying that doing so would "further destabilize this area of Europe and increase tensions" with Russia.
Apr 25, 2022
Officials in the traditionally neutral Nordic nations of Sweden and Finland confirmed Monday that the countries will simultaneously apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization amid increased public support for the move as Russia continues its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Two newspapers--Finland's Iltalehti and Sweden's Expressen--reported that the countries' applications could occur as soon as the middle of next month. The Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that Sweden has received concrete promises from the United States and the United Kingdom regarding protection and political support during the NATO application process.
According to The Guardian:
Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, said then that her country, which shares a 1,300km (810 mile) border with Russia, would decide whether to apply to join the alliance "quite fast, in weeks not months," despite the risk of infuriating Moscow.
Her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, said Sweden had to be "prepared for all kinds of actions from Russia" and that "everything had changed" when Moscow attacked Ukraine.
As recently as last month, the center-left Andersson rejected opposition calls to join NATO, saying that doing so would "further destabilize this area of Europe and increase tensions."
According to recent polling, just over half of Swedes and more than six in 10 Finns support their respective countries joining NATO.
However, peace activists in both countries have spoken out against NATO membership, with Agnes Hellstrom of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society saying "we don't think it would make us safer or the world more secure."
"It would make us part of a nuclear doctrine, and our possibility to be a voice for democracy, prevention, and disarmament would decrease," she told Democracy Now! earlier this month.
\u201cNine reasons why NATO should close the door to Sweden and Finland https://t.co/nOm5HtNxN5\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1650854875
Anti-war activists and experts have long argued that NATO enlargement--and especially its expansion into former Soviet and Warsaw Pact nations--is highly provocative toward Russia. Moscow has warned that further NATO expansion would force Russia to bolster its military capabilities--including by deploying more nuclear weapons--along its borders with alliance members.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Officials in the traditionally neutral Nordic nations of Sweden and Finland confirmed Monday that the countries will simultaneously apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization amid increased public support for the move as Russia continues its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Two newspapers--Finland's Iltalehti and Sweden's Expressen--reported that the countries' applications could occur as soon as the middle of next month. The Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that Sweden has received concrete promises from the United States and the United Kingdom regarding protection and political support during the NATO application process.
According to The Guardian:
Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, said then that her country, which shares a 1,300km (810 mile) border with Russia, would decide whether to apply to join the alliance "quite fast, in weeks not months," despite the risk of infuriating Moscow.
Her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, said Sweden had to be "prepared for all kinds of actions from Russia" and that "everything had changed" when Moscow attacked Ukraine.
As recently as last month, the center-left Andersson rejected opposition calls to join NATO, saying that doing so would "further destabilize this area of Europe and increase tensions."
According to recent polling, just over half of Swedes and more than six in 10 Finns support their respective countries joining NATO.
However, peace activists in both countries have spoken out against NATO membership, with Agnes Hellstrom of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society saying "we don't think it would make us safer or the world more secure."
"It would make us part of a nuclear doctrine, and our possibility to be a voice for democracy, prevention, and disarmament would decrease," she told Democracy Now! earlier this month.
\u201cNine reasons why NATO should close the door to Sweden and Finland https://t.co/nOm5HtNxN5\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1650854875
Anti-war activists and experts have long argued that NATO enlargement--and especially its expansion into former Soviet and Warsaw Pact nations--is highly provocative toward Russia. Moscow has warned that further NATO expansion would force Russia to bolster its military capabilities--including by deploying more nuclear weapons--along its borders with alliance members.
Officials in the traditionally neutral Nordic nations of Sweden and Finland confirmed Monday that the countries will simultaneously apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization amid increased public support for the move as Russia continues its brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Two newspapers--Finland's Iltalehti and Sweden's Expressen--reported that the countries' applications could occur as soon as the middle of next month. The Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that Sweden has received concrete promises from the United States and the United Kingdom regarding protection and political support during the NATO application process.
According to The Guardian:
Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, said then that her country, which shares a 1,300km (810 mile) border with Russia, would decide whether to apply to join the alliance "quite fast, in weeks not months," despite the risk of infuriating Moscow.
Her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, said Sweden had to be "prepared for all kinds of actions from Russia" and that "everything had changed" when Moscow attacked Ukraine.
As recently as last month, the center-left Andersson rejected opposition calls to join NATO, saying that doing so would "further destabilize this area of Europe and increase tensions."
According to recent polling, just over half of Swedes and more than six in 10 Finns support their respective countries joining NATO.
However, peace activists in both countries have spoken out against NATO membership, with Agnes Hellstrom of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society saying "we don't think it would make us safer or the world more secure."
"It would make us part of a nuclear doctrine, and our possibility to be a voice for democracy, prevention, and disarmament would decrease," she told Democracy Now! earlier this month.
\u201cNine reasons why NATO should close the door to Sweden and Finland https://t.co/nOm5HtNxN5\u201d— Medea Benjamin (@Medea Benjamin) 1650854875
Anti-war activists and experts have long argued that NATO enlargement--and especially its expansion into former Soviet and Warsaw Pact nations--is highly provocative toward Russia. Moscow has warned that further NATO expansion would force Russia to bolster its military capabilities--including by deploying more nuclear weapons--along its borders with alliance members.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.