With 95 senators voting in favour of the measure, the US Senate decisively approved the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri cast the lone dissenting vote, contending that the threat posed by China should receive considerably more attention than European security. Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO has the strong support of US President Joe Biden, who in July forwarded the issue to the Senate for consideration.
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About Finland and Sweden’s Membership:
- The decision in Washington came after a vote earlier in the National Assembly of France, where 209 deputies supported the admission of Sweden and Finland and 46 opposed it.
- The approval of the accession was already approved by the Senate, the second chamber of the French parliament.
- In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland submitted applications to join the Western Defense Alliance. The two nations have up to now been close allies but not NATO members.
- All 30 NATO countries, of which two-thirds have already approved the new members, must ratify the accession procedures before they can go into effect.
Important Takeaways for All Competitive Exams:
- NATO Chairman: Jens Stoltenberg
- NATO Nations: Current member states of NATO are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey.