Finland and Sweden have constantly emphasised that they will join NATO together. Both Stockholm and Helsinki displayed to the entire world their tale of shared partnership in face of Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
But just like the credibility of Biden, Macron and Leyen, the bond between Finland and Sweden too crumbled soon. Finland’s foreign minister statement has signalled a break in the ties between the two nordic nations.
The foreign minister of Finland, Pekka Haavisto, stated that the nation might become a member of NATO without its neighbour and ally Sweden if Turkey persists to obstruct their joint application to become a part of the military alliance.
He declared exactly the opposite of what Finland has always said, that it will wait for Sweden to join NATO. Moreover, Haavisto’s remarks come at a crucial time when the West is struggling to put up a united force against the diplomatic, political and economic interests of Russia.
Read more: Western Europe snubs Finland for Russia in a historical case
In the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden deserted their long-established non-alignment policy and applied for membership in NATO.
Their incorporation needs the ratification of all NATO members including Turkey, which has blocked their accession to the military bloc. Ankara has stated that it will give the approval only if the Swedish government cracks down and prosecutes exiled Kurdish militants. Erdogan even told Stockholm not to expect any support from Turkey with regard to its NATO bid following widespread protests in Sweden by anti-Muslim activists and pro-Kurdish organisations.
A day later, Haavisto was asked whether Finland would join NATO without Sweden. He insinuated that Helinski might join NATO if Stockholm’s application continues to get impeded by Turkey.
Sanna Marin’s earlier stance
The statement of Finland’s government is strange. The remarks are an outright deviation from the earlier stance of Finland.
On 17th January, prime minister Sanna Marin stated that Finland will join NATO along with Sweden, even though Finland is not facing any opposition from Turkey regarding the military bloc’s membership.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Marin said, “From our perspective, it’s important that Finland and Sweden are going to NATO together, because we are sharing the same security environment.”
Read more: Finland’s NATO dreams in jeopardy as Sanna Marin’s government nears a fall
Marin further said that she personally spoke to Erdogan, who told her that Turkey has no issues regarding Finland’s accession to NATO. In June last year, Finland and Sweden signed an agreement with Turkey to resolve the conflict via dialogue and removed obstructions to weapons sales to Ankara.
Marin also emphasised that both Finland and Sweden meet all the criteria when it comes to the membership of NATO and have taken measures in that direction.
Finland deserted Stockholm
Finland’s current stance on membership in NATO blatantly reflects a selfish tendency which is prevalent among almost all the nations within the European Union.
Time and again the European nations have taken actions and made statements which have damaged the interests of their allies. It is ironic that the purpose of the EU is to foster and promote regional integration in the domain of political, security and economic matters. However, when the need arises for member states to actually dedicate their time, resources and effort in face of exigent circumstances, they abandon their responsibilities.
This tendency of self-centredness is accompanied by authoritarianism as a few big nations such as France and Germany often pressurise small countries to join their diplomatic and military actions. And the very same nations desert their allies in times of crisis.
Therefore, the Finnish government’s stance regarding Sweden with respect to NATO membership is a reminder to other European nations in particular and to the world at large that the EU is a regional bloc which lacks unity, trust, faith and most importantly loyalty to its partners or allies.
