The United States Senate on Wednesday endorsed Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO, a decisive step in the US ratification of both countries’ accession to the Atlantic alliance.
The Chamber Alta, controlled by the Democrats, gave 95 votes in favor and one against.
“ This historic vote sends an important signal of America’s sustained, bipartisan commitment to NATO and ensuring that our alliance is prepared for the challenges of today and tomorrow,” US President Joe Biden.
“The accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance will further strengthen NATO’s collective security and deepen the transatlantic alliance,” he added.
The Senate also approved an amendment stating that all NATO members must spend for 2024 a minimum of 2% of its GDP in defense and 24% of its defense budget in “main equipment, research and development”.
Instead, he rejected an amendment, presented by the Republicans, which wanted to prevent NATO’s commitment to defend its members from being above the power of Congress to authorize the use of military force.
The ratification process for the entry of new members into NATO varies according to each country: in the United States, the approval of two-thirds of the Senate and subsequent signature is required of the president.
The US president, Democrat Joe Biden, transmitted to the senators the accession protocol last July 11 and urged them to ratify do it quickly, considering that both countries will be “net contributors to the alliance, both in capabilities and resources”.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, also a Democrat, Bob Menéndez, took a position on the same line this Wednesday by underlining at the beginning of the debate that US support sends a strong message in favor of freedom and collective defense.
The influential senator stressed that the current situation, after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last 24 of February, shows “more than ever the vital role” that NATO plays in protecting peace.
The NATO leaders agreed at their summit in Madrid at the end of June to start the admission process for Sweden and Finland. Both countries provisionally have observer status and will become full members when the 26 members of the alliance ratify the access.
Sweden and Finland, motivated by the Russian invasion, submitted their applications for admission on May 18. They did so at the headquarters of the transatlantic organization, in Brussels, at a meeting of their respective ambassadors to NATO with the Allied Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
Turkey had vetoed their entry and demanded more cooperation in the fight against organizations described as terrorists by Ankara, although it finally reached an agreement with Sweden and Finland, in which Stoltenberg mediated and which had the approval of the United States.
The entry of Sweden and Finland will allow the NATO to have alternative maritime and air corridors in support of the Baltic countries.
US Republican Senator Josh Hawley was the only one who voted this Wednesday against his entry. “The expansion will imply new obligations for the United States,” he said, convinced that his country’s focus should not be on Europe, but on Asia, to counteract the growing Chinese threat.
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