Finland Joins NATO, Becomes 31st Member
Finland formally has joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, the world’s largest military alliance.
The country formally became the 31st member of the Organisation on Tuesday at a ceremony in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Finland Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto expressed the belief that the move would promote stability in Europe.
“For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasize NATO’s support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said.
A statement issued by President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 disclosed that the Finish era of military non-alignment has come to an end.
He stated that membership of the military alliance will provide security for Finland and also strengthen its international position.
President Niinisto also stated that Finland applied to join NATO together with Sweden.
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states – 29 European and two North American countries.
Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organisation implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 1949.
NATO is a collective security system: its independent member-states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
The organisation’s motto is animus in consulendo liber (Latin for “a mind unfettered in deliberation”).
