Sweden and Finland, which are not members of NATO, are counting on the European Union’s mutual defense clause in the event of a military strike, the Swedish prime minister said on Tuesday amid rising tensions between Russia and the West.
Ahead of the summit of EU leaders in Versailles on Thursday and Friday, the two countries wrote a joint letter to “remind the other Member States of the EU ‘s declaration of solidarity with the Lisbon Treaty,” Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson told reporters.
The Swedish Prime Minister specifically referred to the clause in Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that in the event of an “armed attack” on an EU Member State, the other Member States must provide assistance and assistance to all in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations “.
The exact nature of EU military solidarity – which is similar to NATO Article 5 and more recent – remains unclear.
Whether it is mandatory is a matter of debate.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also raised concerns in Finland, which on the one hand borders Russia.
The two countries are not officially members of NATO, but have been considered official partners since the mid-1990s, when they turned the page on their neutrality after the end of the Cold War.
Both Sweden and Finland have ruled out applying for NATO membership for the time being, although parliamentary debates on the issue have begun in Helsinki.
“A (Swedish) application for NATO membership would now further destabilize this part of Europe,” Anderson said on Tuesday.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto visited US President Joe Biden in Washington over the weekend, where the United States, Finland and Sweden agreed to step up security co-operation.
The United States is likely to back the Nordic countries in the event of an attack, most analysts predict, although no formal guarantees have been signed.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Swedish and Finnish support for NATO membership has soared.
According to recent polls, in both countries now, the majority of the world is in favor of joining the alliance.
However, a request for NATO membership will anger Moscow.
During a visit to Finland in early February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recalled the existence of an EU mutual defense clause, stressing the organisation’s “full solidarity”.
euractiv.gr
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