It has been 74 years since the founding of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). New member joining today on all days. From this afternoon, when all formalities are completed, Finland will be the 31st member state of the military alliance. Some facts about Finland’s accession:
• Turkey, which is the last of the member states to agree to join, must deliver its letter of acceptance of Finnish membership to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The United States is the guardian of the North Atlantic Treaty.
• Next, Finland has to deliver its acceptance letter to Blinken. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto was authorized by President Sauli Niinisto to sign the document on behalf of Finland.
• Finland is an official member upon delivery of documents. The Finnish flag will then be raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels at 3.30pm. Flags in alphabetical order. So Finland comes between Estonia and France.
• Finland is the 31st member of NATO. The last expansion happened in 2020, when North Macedonia joined the alliance.
• Finland’s entry into NATO is the fastest in the history of the alliance. The official application was submitted on May 18 last year.
• Finland’s accession will add more than 1,300 kilometers of borders between NATO and Russia’s territories. This is a big double.
Guram Paul
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