Finland and Sweden are going to join NATO

The Western military alliance has begun the formal process of joining Finland and Sweden to NATO. They have signed a protocol to join the two countries in NATO.

This makes it easier for Finland and Sweden to become NATO members.

• NATO member states signed the protocol on Tuesday (July 5th) in Brussels, Belgium.
• This means that from now on, the two countries will be able to attend the NATO meeting.
• In addition, they will receive more intelligence assistance from NATO countries.
• Turkey recently withdrew its objections to Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to the Western military alliance NATO, ending weeks of conflict.

The decision came after four hours of talks on June 26 before the start of the NATO summit in Madrid.

This paved the way for the two new countries to join the 30-member alliance.

“We have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO,”

the alliance leaders said in a statement. The decision is now awaiting approval in the parliaments of NATO allies.

This process can take up to a year. However, once approved,

the Nordic countries will be protected in accordance with the two countries’ joint NATO defense article (Article 5).

Meanwhile, the United States has announced an increase in its military presence in Europe.

The country hopes to strengthen NATO through this. US President Joe Biden said the alliance  needed more than ever.

NATO will strengthened in all aspects of land, air and sea.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sharply criticized NATO’s aggressive behavior in

the Baltic region and on Russia’s border. He said Russia was ready to respond to any NATO aggression.🔱