Finland will officially become a member of NATO on April 4

Finland will officially become a member of NATO on April 4. The countryʼs president Sauli Niinisto will go to Brussels, where he will take part in a solemn ceremony.

This is reported on the presidentʼs website.

At the official ceremony, the relevant documents will be solemnly signed and the Finnish flag will be raised at the NATO headquarters. Niinisto will hold a meeting with the Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg after which a joint press conference will be held.

On Tuesday, April 4, for the first time since 2017, a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the level of foreign ministers will be held in Brussels with the participation of Ukraine. Hungary failed to block it. The meeting will be attended by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba. He will discuss arms supply and ammunition production, a special tribunal for Russia, increased sanctions and humanitarian aid.

• In May 2022, Sweden and Finland renounced their traditional neutrality against the backdrop of Russiaʼs military invasion of Ukraine and submitted applications to join NATO. The Alliance promptly considered them and agreed to accept them. After that, the applications of these countries had to be ratified by the parliaments of all NATO members. But Turkey became the biggest opponent of accession — it put forward conditions for Sweden and Finland in exchange for ratification.
• In 2023, Turkey stated that Finland had made better progress in meeting the conditions than Sweden. Therefore, on March 30, the Turkish parliament was the last to ratify Finlandʼs application. As for Sweden, discussions are currently ongoing — its entry is blocked by Hungary and Turkey.