Sweden in NATO, important for Northern Europe
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Sweden is a member of the NATO defense alliance. The last two expansions of NATO to Finland and Europe are a consequence of Russia’s brutal assault on a neutral country. Finland and Sweden have a long tradition of being outside defense alliances in order to maintain their neutrality. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 changed the two countries in Northern Europe. To ensure their own security, they applied for NATO membership. With Finland and Sweden in NATO, this increases the security of all of Northern Europe. Especially the Baltic countries. Russia’s desire to destroy NATO, create divisions and move the organization as far away from its own borders as possible has not succeeded.
Nordic and Baltic countries
With Finland and Sweden in NATO, security in the Nordic and Baltic region has been significantly strengthened. Joint exercises and intelligence sharing are of course important. Another factor is that all countries have access to the same systems, which increases security in itself.
The biggest benefit is probably that countries will coordinate their defenses in a completely different way. The whole of Northern Europe can be viewed as one area and thus make defense more efficient. For the Baltic countries (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia), Finland and Sweden’s membership is a significant strengthening of defense in the Baltic Sea.
Of the Nordic countries, it is primarily Norway that can take advantage of its neighbors’ membership. Previously, Norway was an isolated state in its own right among the NATO countries. On the Russian side, just across the border from Norway, lies the world’s largest maritime fleet, consisting of various Russian military vessels. Both Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO will significantly strengthen preparedness in the northern part of Norway.
A stronger NATO in Northern Europe is bad for Russia
A stated goal for Russia in connection with the attack on Ukraine was to prevent an eastward expansion of NATO. With the two expansions, it is clear that this goal was not achieved. On the contrary. Finland’s long border with its neighbor to the east was hardly what Putin had in mind.
But perhaps most dramatically for Russia is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad is Russia’s only port in the Baltic Sea. Kaliningrad poses a real threat to Poland and the Baltic countries. Now Kaliningrad is even more isolated.
Sources:
NATO – News: Sweden officially joins NATO , 07-Mar.-2024