Finland joins NATO: What country is and isn’t a member state including Ireland, Sweden & Turkey

Finlandhas officially become a member state ofNATO, bringing an end to decades of military neutrality. With other Nordic bloc countries looking for admission, we’ve outlined the current state of play withNATOincluding who’s in, who’s out and who’s seeking approval.

Tuesday brought good news forFinland一直从事应用程序了process since May 2022. However, nearby Sweden has been left out in the cold and is yet to be granted approval by a few keymember states．

WhileFinlandhas typically maintained positive relationships with its surroundingNATOcountries, their admission will have a huge impact on their defence strategy moving forward.Finlandwill now be covered byNATO’scollective defence policy, which means a duty of response from other member states if the country is attacked.

NATO’sapproval is a strategic blow to Russia, which shares a 1,340km (832-mile) border withFinland．这意味着现在的联盟将th翻了一番e size of its border with Putin’s nation.

Who are NATO’s founding members?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was founded after World War Two as part ofefforts to secure peace in Europe, help further cooperation between Europe and North America, and to combat the unpredictable threat of the Soviet Union at the time.

In 1949, 12member statessigned the treaty. The founding members were…

Who are the members of NATO now?

Currently,NATOhas 31 member countries, here’s a list of the countries part of theNATOstates map and when they joined the alliance…

European countries not in NATO

Why is Ireland not in NATO?

Irelandhas officially been militarily non-aligned and neutral since gaining independence in 1922. However, the country did joinNATO’s Partnership for Peace programmeandEuro Atlantic Partnership Councilin 1999, with many suspecting it may lead to full membership in the future.

Irelandhas never applied toNATOdue to its long-standing policy on military non-alignment but with other neutral countries applying for membership, there could be a change of heart.

Why is Sweden not in NATO?

Sweden, much likeFinland, pursued a policy of neutrality following the Cold War. Even before that, Sweden was the only country in the Nordic bloc to remain mostly neutral during WW2.

Now Sweden is a fully integrated country with the EU and part ofNATO’sPartnership for Peace programme, the country decided to apply for full membership. However, it is still waiting for all countries to ratify their application.

Turkey - which was the last ofNATO’smembers to accept Finland’s application - is currently blocking Sweden. Hungary is also blocking Sweden’s approval due to political ‘grievances’, reports Reuters.

It is likely its membership will not be ratified unless an agreement is made betweenSweden and Turkeyregarding the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).Turkeyreportedly wants Stockholm to take a tougher line against members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) living in Sweden.

The PKK is labelled a terrorist group in Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe.