Sweden and Finland joining NATO- UPSC Current Affairs

Context

Turkey has made peace with Sweden and Finland on joining NATO by signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

About NATO

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance in the European Continent.
• It was established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) in 1949.
• Its headquarters are in Brussels and Belgium.
• It was formed in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union after World War II.
• The NATO alliance consists of 30 independent countries (initially 12).
• Countries that have recently declared their aspirations for NATO membership are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Georgia, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Objectives of NATO

• The aim of establishing NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
• It also helps its member countries to consult and cooperate on safety-related issues, defense, establishing mutual trust, and unnecessary conflicts.
• To resolve any dispute, NATO first attempts to establish peace and in case of failure to establish peace its military undertakes operations to resolve the crisis.

Defense Clauses

• NATO Military operations are taken under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate. 
• Article 5 of the Washington Treaty has been invoked only once, due to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in the US.

How Does a Country Joins NATO?

Article 10 of NATO’s founding treaties allow the new members to join NATO with a unanimous agreement with all the existing allies. There is a five-step process to join NATO:

• Step 1: The new members have to satisfy some prerequisites 
  • Must be a European nation.
  • Follow democratic principles.
  • Must contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic region
• Step 2: When a country satisfies all prerequisites, it is invited to join the Membership Acquisition Plan (MAP). 
  • This plan provides advice and support on different aspects of membership ranging from defense and military to political and legal issues.
  • Participation in MAP does not guarantee membership, the MAP process varies for each country.
• Step 3: After this accession talks are held, where the invitee country accepts the commitment, rights and obligations of NATO membership.
• Step 4: This step requires every member country to sign and accept the accession protocol, meanwhile the invitee country will also be integrated with certain aspects of NATO's work.
• Step 5: The invitee country needs to adopt & deposit its own bill of ratification to join NATO. Once the bill of ratification is passed, the country officially becomes NATO member.

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MOU between Turkey, Sweden and Finland

• The Turkish government was opposing Sweden and Finland on allegations of supporting Kurdish separatism, terrorism, and extradition.
• Finland and Sweden have given assurance to address counter-terrorism provisions within their countries.
• The pending & suspected “deportations or extraditions” of listed ‘terror’ will also be executed by the two countries. 
• They gave assurance to lift the arms embargo against Turkey.

Impact on Russia

• Finland and Russia share a 1,340 km long border, whereas Sweden shares the Baltic Sea with Russia.
• NATO will exercise more influence on both the Baltic Sea area and on the land, countering the strategic positions of Russia.
• The move to join NATO will weaken Russia’s influence by strengthening NATO in the alliance positions.
• The increased power share from sovereign powers of the west can be alarming for Russia.

Impact on NATO

• NATO dominance will be strengthened as Finland’s geographical location would double NATO’s shares on Russia’s border.
• Sweden and Finland’s move to join NATO will be beneficial in increasing Western unity, resolve, and military preparedness.
• NATO will also be able to position its weapon systems and enhance its combat formation and plan its attack techniques to power up deterrence and defense.

Source: The Hindu

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