Green light from the Slovak parliament for Finland and Sweden to join NATO

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The Slovak parliament on Tuesday gave the green light to Sweden and Finland joining the Atlantic Alliance.  

“The National Council of the Slovak Republic has just approved the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO”, tweeted the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Unions, Ratislav Kacer.

Prime Minister Eduard Heger immediately welcomed the parliament's decision, emphasizing that with the two new countries, “(NATO's) defense capability will be considerably strengthened”.

Finland's accession to NATO was supported by 126 votes and that of Sweden by 124 votes, in the presence of 144 deputies. 

Slovakia delayed its vote due to a recent government reshuffle.

To close the Slovak ratification file, the signature of liberal President Zuzana Caputova is still missing.

C It was Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February that sparked Sweden and Finland's request to join this organization, ending decades of military non-alignment.

The 30 Member States of the Atlantic Alliance must give their consent for them to be admitted.

After the Slovak green light, there will remain only two member countries which have not yet officially ratified this membership: Hungary and Turkey, according to a NATO list.