Finland Officially Declared the 31st member of NATO

After Russia invaded Ukraine, many neighboring countries were spooked into the reality of their own safety, and Finland finally became the 31st member of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Finland shares approximately 830 miles of border with Russia. Although Russia has threatened the neighboring countries with “countermeasures” should they choose to join NATO, it wasn’t enough to prevent Finland and Sweden from seeking safety with NATO.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed, “War has returned to Europe, and Finland has decided to join NATO and be part of the world’s most successful alliance,” at the ceremony in the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Sweden is next in line for NATO membership.

Finnish President Saul Niinisto said Finland’s most significant contribution to NATO’s common deterrence and defense would be to defend its own territory. There is still significant work to be done to coordinate this with NATO, and “It is a great day for Finland and I want to say that it is an important day for NATO,” President Niinisto added at the joint conference with Stoltenberg.

Finland’s trade is heavily dependent upon EU, Russia, and the US, with the EU taking up about 60 percent and Russia and the US taking the rest. With Finland’s joining NATO, EU and US will take more importance than Russia. Furthermore, Finland’s location provides a strategic advantage on the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean against a largely landlocked Russia.

Finland up until 2016 had been against joining NATO, and did not seek NATO membership until 2022 when Russia’s attack on Ukraine increased drastically. In 2016, Russia annexed Crimea, and even then, Finland had not wanted to join

Kremlin responded that Russia would be forced to take “counter-measures,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.