Sauli Niinistö, the president of Finland, will go to Brussels on Tuesday, April 4, to take part in a ceremony at NATO’s headquarters that will formally begin the nation’s participation in the military alliance.
Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Finland and Sweden jointly applied to join NATO.
While Sweden’s application has been held because of resistance from Hungary and Turkey, Finland’s membership has been approved by all member nations.
Finland, which borders Russia on land, will now join the transatlantic military alliance as its 32nd member.
Finland to officially become a member of the NATO military alliance on Tuesday
“Finland will deposit its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Brussels on Tuesday, 4 April, before the start of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The deposit will be made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto,” the presidency said in a statement Monday.
A flag-raising ceremony marking Finland’s accession to NATO will follow.
Niinistö and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will hold a bilateral meeting followed by a press conference and both are expected to deliver remarks at the ceremony.
“This is a historic week,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Brussels. “From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance.” He said he hoped Sweden would be able to join in coming months.
Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, said that on Tuesday afternoon, “we will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the Nato headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for Nato as a whole.”
Stoltenberg said Turkey, the last country to ratify Finland’s membership, would hand its official texts to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Tuesday. Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same.
The Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, and the defence minister, Antti Kaikkonen, will attend the ceremony, along with the foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto.
“It is a historic moment for us. For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasise Nato support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression,” Haavisto said in a statement. “We seek to promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region.”
