Helsinki, May 10. INTERFAX - Finland and Sweden will apply for NATO membership together at the beginning of next week, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported on Tuesday, citing its sources.
"Both countries are working to ensure that their applications are submitted on the same day. This will probably happen at the beginning of next week," the publication says.
Prime Minister Sana Marin and President Sauli Niinisto are expected to express their views on joining NATO on Thursday. On Saturday, the position on NATO will be presented by the Social Democratic Party, led by Marin.
In Sweden, the decision to join NATO is made by the government headed by the Social Democrats. Thus, in practice, the decision will be made by the Swedish Social Democratic Party, which will announce its support for joining NATO on May 15. According to HS, this became known to the Finnish government at least last week.
After that, negotiations with NATO will begin. All 30 NATO countries must ratify membership, which can take from 4 to 12 months.
The NATO rules do not specify in what form the application is submitted. A likely alternative is a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Finland's application will most likely be submitted by the Finnish Ambassador to NATO, Klaus Korhonen.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly stated that Finland and Sweden will be accepted into the alliance "with open arms" and promised to conduct admission procedures as soon as possible.
