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‘This is a good day’: Sweden and Finland submit bids to join Nato

Sweden and Finland's ambassadors to Nato handed over their countries' applications to join the security alliance at its Brussels headquarters at 8am on Wednesday.

Published: 18 May 2022 08:18 CEST
'This is a good day': Sweden and Finland submit bids to join Nato
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg shakes hands with Axel Wernhoff, Sweden's Nato ambassador, after the application was handed in. Photo: Screen Grab

Sweden’s ambassador to Nato, Axel Wernhoff, together with his Finnish colleague Klaus Korhonen, crossed the road from their offices to submit the two countries’ indication letters, both signed yesterday by their respective foreign ministers, at Nato’s headquarters. 

They were met by Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who thanked the two countries for what he called “a historic step”. 

“This is a good day at a critical moment for our security,” he said. “You have both made your choice after thorough democratic processes and I warmly welcome the requests by both Sweden and Finland to join Nato. You are our closest partners and your membership in Nato would increase our shared security.”  

Nato’s ambassadors met at 10am to discuss the two countries applications.  Until a few days ago, Nato was expected to take less than a day to decide to formally invite the two countries to join from the time the letters were submitted. 

But according to Sweden’s TT newswire, the attempts of Turkey to block the two countries may delay this until early next week. 

Turkey, which like all member states has a veto over new members, has accused Sweden and Finland of acting as safe
havens for armed Kurdish groups opposed to Ankara. 

In a veiled reference to Turkey’s recent threat to block Sweden and Finland’s application, Stoltenberg expressed Nato’s willingness to work through any outstanding issues. 

“The security issues of all allies have to be taken into account and we are determined to work through all issues and reach rapid conclusions,” he said. 

He also pointed to the promises of security support for Sweden during the transition phase, that have come in recent days from member states, adding that Nato was “already vigilant in the Baltic Sea region”. Nato and its allies would continue, he said, “to adapt as necessary.”  

Stoltenberg has been working from home after testing positive for Covid-19 last week. 

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POLITICS

Swedish finance minister: ‘Decreasing inflation is a sign of improvement’

Sweden’s finance minister on Monday put forward an amendment budget more than four times the size of last year's restrained spring bill, amid hopes the 'economic winter' is beginning to thaw.

Published: 15 April 2024 09:04 CEST
Swedish finance minister: 'Decreasing inflation is a sign of improvement'

“We are in the midst of an economic winter, with weak growth and rising unemployment. The economic situation is challenging, but the decreasing inflation is a sign of improvement,” said Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson as she submitted her budget to parliament.

KEY POINTS:

The bill contains investments to the tune of 17.3 billion kronor, in stark contrast to last year’s spring amendment budget which added only four million to the main autumn budget. Of these, 16.8 billion kronor is allocated to new proposals, rather than various automatic increases.

The government said in a statement that its primary aim was to “lay the foundations for recovery, higher growth and better welfare” as inflation drops and any recession impact is made clear.

Most of the investments had already been announced in dribs and drabs before the day.

“We are reinforcing healthcare with additional resources to the regions and investments for more jobs,” said Svantesson in the statement, as she awarded healthcare services six billion kronor.

Swedish regions have previously warned that they may have to lay off healthcare staff due to the financial crisis, although the centre-left opposition has criticised the six billion as not enough.

“Safety and security in Sweden must increase, which is why we are making additional investments in law enforcement authorities and defence,” continued Svantesson, pouring 1.4 billion kronor into increasing prison cells, and 1 billion to stepping up airport security and baggage handling.

Swedish inflation according to the consumer price index fell to 4.1 percent last month, lower than expected, but Svantesson warned that the tough economic situation wasn’t over.

“We can clearly see that the fight against inflation has produced results, but we must remain persistent and lay the foundations for making Sweden safer, more secure and wealthier,” she said.

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