At a ceremony at NATO headquarters, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and other government officials will raise the alliance’s flag to welcome Finland as its 31st member.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday that Finland’s membership in NATO “will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.”
After fending off a Soviet invasion during WWII, Finland decided to keep things amicable with its neighbor to the east. However, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, the Finns decided to seek safety under NATO’s collective defense pact.
Stockholm and Helsinki jointly applied to join NATO last year, following a shift in Swedish defense policy similar to that seen in its Nordic neighbor. Sweden has applied to join NATO, but NATO members Turkey and Hungary have blocked the application.
