Finland and Sweden are set to apply for NATO membership

Finland and Sweden might seek membership in the 30-nation NATO alliance within days, bringing an end to decades of military non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine./p>

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance30 different countries from Europe, North American and Asia.
• It was established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 4, 1949, which sought to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in Central and Eastern Europe after  World War II. 
• ts founding members included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The heart of NATO is expressed in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an armed attack on one or more of them in Europe or North America is considered an attack on all of them and that collective action must be taken to assist the party or parties attacked.
• NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations are near Mons, Belgium.
• Its member countries include Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA.
• North Macedonia is the latest entry in the organization.
  

Why are Finland and Sweden not already members?

• Both believed that joining the alliance would be an unwarranted provocation to Moscow, therefore they have long maintained neutrality, followed by non-alignment, to avoid antagonizing a significant regional power.
• Finland’s concerns have been largely practical:
• It shares an 810-mile (1,300km) border with Russia and proclaimed independence in 1917 after more than a century of control by Moscow.
• During WWII, its army twice fought off Soviet invaders before relinquishing around 10% of its land.
• Sweden's opposition to NATO membership has been mostly ideological.
• Its postwar foreign policy has centered on multilateral diplomacy and nuclear disarmament, and it has long viewed itself as an international mediator, having reduced its military after the Cold War ended.

Would NATO welcome them?

• When both nations joined the EU in 1995, they transitioned from official neutrality to military nonalignment.
• They are already NATO partners, participating in drills and sharing intelligence with the alliance.
• Finland already meets NATO’s defense spending target of 2% of GDP, while Sweden is on course to do so.
• From a military standpoint, the accession of Finland's and Sweden's armed forces would significantly strengthen NATO's capabilities in northern Europe, filling a gap in the alliance's defenses by doubling the length of its border with Russia and strengthening security and stability in the Baltic states.