Sweden and Finland become 'de facto' members of NATO after signing the accession protocol

BRUSSELS, 5 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Sweden and Finland have taken this Tuesday a further step in their entry into NATO with the signing of their accession protocol, with which they become 'de facto' members of the military alliance in the absence of formal ratification.

The 30 allies at the ambassadorial level have signed the document with which they support the accession of Stockholm and Helsinki to the military organization, admission that endorsed the leaders' summit in Madrid on June 29 and 30, in which the negotiations with Turkey were completed. to lift his veto in exchange for a greater commitment of the Scandinavian countries in the fight against the terrorist group Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The deal was facilitated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and ended a month-long blockade by Ankara, paving the way for two new members to join the organization.

This step comes after Sweden and Finland finalized their accession negotiations to the organization in one day. The process was carried out in record time given the political and military closeness of both candidates.

The two Nordic countries jointly requested their entry into NATO on May 18, an entry that the Atlantic Alliance was betting on because it was 'express' and ready for the Madrid summit, however the Turkish reluctance due to the alleged collusion of Swedes and Finns with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) frustrated an immediate process.

Once the agreement is signed, the Turkish authorities have insisted that Sweden and Finland must commit to the document, threatening to once again block their accession at the ratification stage.

This is precisely the longest stage, since a bureaucratic procedure is now beginning with the accession protocols in each NATO country. This will take months as each ally has a different validation system and in many cases it involves a vote in Parliament.

Thus, the formal entry of Sweden and Finland will surely not arrive until the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023, something that worries both candidates who want to have security guarantees for this period in the face of threats from Russia.