Washington DC, 4 August 2022 (TDI): The US Senate, on Wednesday, approved Sweden and Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by a vote of 95-1.
The accession of Sweden and Finland amid the Russian aggression in Ukraine signifies a strong bipartisan message of support for expanding the Western alliance. This historic vote aims at showing the strength of the defence bloc.
I applaud the Senate’s bipartisan vote today to approve the @NATO applications of Sweden 🇸🇪 and Finland 🇫🇮. Both have been resolute partners, and since Russia’s invasion, have provided critical assistance to Ukraine. They will bring significant capabilities to the Alliance.
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) August 4, 2022
The Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, said, “The NATO vote is a very important vote –for American security around the world. Finland’s and Sweden’s membership will strengthen NATO even further and is all more urgent given Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
Approval of accession
The US Senate voted 95 to 1 in favour of the two Nordic countries’ accession to NATO. The vote of the Senate made the US 23rd out of the 30 NATO countries formally endorse the accession so far.
Moreover, France and Italy approved the accession on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
I welcome the Senate’s ratification of @NATO membership for Finland and Sweden. Finland and Sweden are longtime, stalwart partners, and I look forward to a quick and complete ratification by other NATO members as a commitment to Transatlantic security.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 3, 2022
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However, according to the NATO membership list, few countries are yet to approve the accession. These include the Czech Republic, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Spain, Slovakia and Turkiye.
Foramilized invitation
NATO sent its formalized invitation to the two Nordic countries at the end of June 2022 to join the alliance. However, the decision on the accession will go on until all the 30 member states have ratified it.
President Joe Biden also held a meeting in June to show US support for the application of the two Nordic countries to NATO. Furthermore, Biden sent the protocols to the US Senate in July, paving the way for the vote.
The accession protocols had to be approved by the two-thirds majority of the Senate to succeed. The final tally of the votes showed a majority of the Senate voting in favour thereby approving the accession.
Additionally, the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnel, said, “Admitting Sweden and Finland to NATO will only strengthen the most successful military alliance in human history.”
The writer is a senior year student of International Relations at Kinnaird College for Women. The writer holds an interest in the Indo-Pacific, cyber and security studies, and international law. She can be reached out via E-mail or Twitter for authorship/contributorship work.
