NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed April 4 as the official date for Finland’s entry into NATO at a briefing in Brussels.
Speaking on the eve of the meeting of the heads of foreign affairs of the alliance, which will be held in the Belgian capital, Stoltenberg said that Tuesday will be a historic day:
“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO, which will make Finland safer and our Alliance stronger. We will raise the flag of Finland for the first time here at NATO headquarters.”
He explained that tomorrow Finland will participate in all meetings and activities of the alliance as a full member, since all 30 member countries have approved the protocol on Finland’s membership.
Completion of the procedure requires Turkey to transfer the ratified protocol of accession to the archives of the US State Department. After that, NATO must invite Finland to join, and Finland must sign the accession document and submit it to the US State Department. However, all these actions are planned to be done in Brussels so that Finnish or Turkish officials do not have to travel to Washington.
It is noteworthy that April 4 is the anniversary of the founding of NATO. On this day in 1949 in Washington, representatives of 12 countries – the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Portugal – signed the North Atlantic Pact on a military-political alliance.
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