Seimas ratifies the Protocols on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO

Press release, 20 July 2022

At its extraordinary session, the Seimas ratified the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance.

The Law on Ratification of the Protocol on Finland’s accession (No XIVP-1891) was adopted unanimously by 111 votes and the Law on Ratification of the Protocol on Sweden’s accession (No. XIVP-1892) was adopted by 112 votes in favour with one vote against.

Both countries were invited to join NATO at the NATO summit in Madrid in late June. On 5 July 2022 in Brussels, the representatives of all 30 NATO member countries signed the Protocols on Finland and Sweden’s accession.

The accession Protocols will take effect when all the member countries inform the US Government of their ratification.

Finland and Sweden became NATO partners in 1994 when both countries joined the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. In the light of the new security situation as Russia launched a war against Ukraine, Finland and Sweden officially applied for NATO membership on 18 May 2022.

The Resolution of  the Seimas of 10 May 2022 underlines that Finland and Sweden are reliable and long-standing NATO partners and their political, economic and defence potential is an important factor in ensuring the security and defence of the Alliance as a whole, including, inter alia, the region of the Baltic and Nordic countries.

Rimas Rudaitis, Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5  239 6132, e-mail: [email protected]