Sweden makes NATO bid official

[GS Paper 2 – International Organization]

Context – Prime Minister makes an announcement, a day after Finland’s president did so. Sweden announced it will apply for NATO membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression, entering a new era as it reverses two centuries of military non-alignment.

Key Developments

• Sweden and Finland have both expressed a desire to act in lockstep on NATO membership. They are expected to submit their applications jointly this week.

• Russia has a strong belief that the reason behind attracting countries towards NATO is the United States.

• Russia has warned the Nations that it will be enforced to take military-technical actions to counter the threats to its National Security.

• Russia has threatened Finland to suspend its electricity to Finland citing that Finland has not paid for the electricity sold in May.

• The country’s interest to join NATO has lifted Russia’s Security concerns. The expansion of NATO would surround Russia with all NATO Nations in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.

About NATO

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty of April 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

• It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. There are currently 30 states.

• The essential and enduring purpose of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means .

• NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means.

• NATO has an integrated military command structure but very few forces or assets are exclusively its own. Most forces remain under full national command and control until member countries agree to undertake NATO-related tasks.

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