Finland became NATO’s newest member today (4 April 2023), upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. NATO Allies signed Finland’s Accession Protocol on 5 July 2022, after which all 30 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
“We welcome Finland to the Alliance!,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto deposited Finland’s instrument of accession with the government of the United States, represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Secretary General then welcomed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to NATO Headquarters for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the country’s accession to the Alliance.
Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Secretary General thanked President Niinistö for his outstanding leadership and for leading Finland into the most successful Alliance in history. “I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance and I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible,” he said. “Joining NATO is good for Finland, it is good for Nordic security and it is good for NATO as a whole,” he added. The Secretary General also noted that Finland’s accession shows the world that President Putin failed to “slam NATO’s door shut.” “Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite; more NATO and our door remains firmly open,” he said.
The Finnish national anthem and the NATO hymn were played, as Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time, in the presence of President Niinistö, Foreign Minister Haavisto, Defence Minister Kaikkonen, the foreign ministers of all NATO Allies and invitee Sweden. Simultaneous flag-raising ceremonies took place at Allied Command Operations (SHAPE) in Mons (Belgium) and Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia (United States). Standing alongside President Niinistö, the Secretary General said: “Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an Ally. Your forces are substantial and highly capable, your resilience is second to none and for many years troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners. From today, we stand together as Allies."
🗣 | NATO Secretary General:
President Niinistö, dear Sauli,
Ministers,
Ladies and gentlemen.
This is an historic day.
We welcome Finland as the newest member of our Alliance.
We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO Headquarters.
Thirty-one flags flying together as a symbol of our unity and solidarity.
On this day – on the 4th of April 1949 - the Washington Treaty was signed, “To create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression.”
For almost 75 years, this great Alliance has shielded our nations. And it continues to do so today.
But war has returned to Europe. And Finland has decided to join NATO, and be part of the world’s most successful Alliance.
This has been the fastest accession process in NATO’s modern history.
Finland and Sweden applied for membership last May.
In June, at our Summit in Madrid, every Ally invited them to join.
And today, less than a year later, we welcome Finland as a full member of our Alliance.
I look forward also to welcoming Sweden into the Alliance as soon as possible.
Finland is safer and NATO is stronger with Finland as an Ally.
Your forces are substantial and highly capable.
Your resilience is second to none.
And for many years, troops from Finland and NATO countries have worked side-by-side as partners.
From today, we stand together as Allies.
This sends a clear message: That every nation has the right to choose its own path, that NATO’s door remains open, and no one can close it with force or coercion.
NATO is a community united by our values - freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
We stand together, we protect and defend each other. All for one, and one for all.
President Niinistö, dear Sauli, I am glad to be here together with you on this great day.
Thank you for your outstanding leadership, and your tireless work to make this day possible.
I am glad – and I am proud - to be the Secretary General that welcomes Finland fully into the NATO family.
Welcome to the Alliance.
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