PARIS, Aug. 13 (DPA/EP) –
French President Emmanuel Macron has signed the ratification protocol for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, the Elysée Palace reported on Saturday.
The French Parliament had previously approved supporting the admission of these two Nordic countries in the defensive alliance led by the United States.
Before the effective entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, the 30 current members of the alliance must ratify the accession protocols. Germany and other countries have already given their approval.
Finland and Sweden had for decades refused to apply to join NATO, although they have changed their position as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, unleashed on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The access of Sweden and Finland was unblocked at the Madrid summit on June 29 and 30, in which the leaders invited both candidates, after culminating in the prelude to the meeting an agreement for Turkey to lift its veto in exchange for a greater commitment of the Scandinavian countries in the fight against the terrorist group Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Both countries took a further step on July 5 in joining NATO with the signing of their accession protocol, with which they become ‘de facto’ members of the military alliance in the absence of formal ratification. After that, the director general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, spoke of “historic day”.
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