The two northern European countries Sweden and Finland have formally come a step closer to joining NATO. All members of the military alliance sign a corresponding document in Brussels. Now the parliaments have to decide. In the case of the Bundestag, that could be the case this week.
On Tuesday in Brussels, the ambassadors of the 30 NATO countries initiated the ratification process for Finland's and Sweden's NATO accession. "The signing of the accession protocols initiates the ratification process in each of the member countries," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. After the accession protocols have been signed, the 30 NATO countries still have to approve the accession.
The Bundestag could agree to Finland and Sweden joining this week. An attempt will be made to deal with a corresponding application on Wednesday in the first reading in parliament, it was said last Friday in circles of the traffic light coalition. The two final readings could then take place on Friday. This would enable the Bundesrat to deal with the ratification on the same day.
In May, Finland and Sweden broke with their traditional military neutrality after the Russian attack on Ukraine and applied for NATO membership.
NATO initiated the admission of Finland and Sweden to the military alliance last week at the Madrid summit. Shortly before the start of the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave up his week-long opposition to the two EU countries joining the alliance. In a trinational agreement, Sweden and Finland have responded to Turkey's central demands, according to Ankara.
