ROME, May 14 (Xinhua) — Finland and Sweden’s likely membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been prompted by fears in those countries over the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. But according to analysts, this development might have consequences that go beyond the current crisis.
Finland and Sweden have been members of the European Union since 1993, but until now they were among a small minority of EU member states not part of the NATO military alliance. . Once they join, only four of the EU’s 27 member states – Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta – will remain outside NATO.
This also means that 24 of the 32 members of NATO will be members of the European Union.
Analysts say the two countries’ NATO membership will strengthen the alliance: the two countries are among the richest nations in the world, according to World Bank data, and the two countries’ military spending is broadly in line NATO averages, expressed as a percentage of each country’s gross domestic product.
“What this means is that the ties between NATO and the European Union will become even closer,” Elena Sciso, a professor of international law at Luiss University in Rome, told Xinhua, adding: ” Consider that the European Union’s 2009 Lisbon Treaty includes a mutual and collective defense clause, just like NATO.”
Nicolai von Ondarza, political scientist and head of the European Union division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said Finland and Sweden have never been “entirely neutral” on security, noting that their armed forces were already coordinating their activities with those of NATO countries and sharing intelligence. Moreover, they practiced what he called “armed neutrality”, in other words, if necessary, they are ready to use military force to maintain their neutrality.
“What this means in particular is that the Baltic Sea will largely become a NATO sea,” von Ondarza said in an interview, referring to the vast expanse of water in the north. of Europe and surrounded by Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany – all NATO member states – as well as Finland, Sweden and Russia.
“I also think we will see a policy shift in foreign and military policy from crisis management to territorial defence,” he said.
According to Ms Sciso of Luiss University, this development might have repercussions far beyond Europe. She pointed out that the Arctic Ocean – a virtually unpopulated and landlocked region believed to contain 160 billion barrels of oil and up to 30% of the planet’s natural gas – is currently administered by the eight countries that border, five of which are members of NATO: Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and the United States. When Finland and Sweden join NATO, this number will increase to seven out of eight, with only Russia not being a member of the alliance.
“This is important because the states that govern the region will be dominated by NATO,” Ms. Sciso continued, adding: “The countries concerned are bound to respect the rules agreed for the region on subjects ranging from fishing rights to nuclear testing, but they remain sovereign states and two of them are the greatest nuclear powers in the world.” End
