SUPPORTING NATO ASPIRANTS & PARTNERS IN EUROPE
The year 2023 marked the historic accession of Finland to NATO and to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Throughout 2023, the Assembly also pressed for the completion of parliamentary ratification procedures to allow for Sweden’s accession. Support for other aspirants and partners remained high on the Assembly’s agenda. The Assembly also continued its internal review of its partnership goals and tools to adapt them in light of today’s security environment. Throughout 2023, the Assembly’s partnership activities once again benefited from the expert contributions and generous financial support of the Swiss government and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF).
NATO Accession Processes of Finland and Sweden
Finland and Sweden reversed their long-standing foreign and security policies in May 2022 when both countries decided to apply for NATO membership, driven by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Since then, the Assembly has encouraged and monitored the ratification of their accession in Allied parliaments.
Finland became the Alliance’s 31st member state on 4 April 2023. Then President Joëlle Garriaud-Maylam (France) joined Allied Foreign Ministers for the accession ceremony at NATO Headquarters. Assembly members could also witness the rapid NATO integration of Finland’s armed forces and defence policies during a visit to Helsinki and Hämeenlinna in September.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s accession has been delayed. While the Turkish parliament completed its procedures on 23 January 2024, the Hungarian parliament still must complete its consideration on ratification. Addressing his NATO PA colleagues at the Spring Session in Luxembourg, Hans Wallmark, Head of the Swedish delegation, expressed his confidence “that Sweden will be seen as an active, reliable, and trusted Ally in NATO.” He underlined that his country is determined to address any member’s concerns and “is fully committed to fighting terrorism, with determination, resolve and in solidarity.”
In his report on Baltic security, Jeroen van Wijngaarden (Netherlands) urges Allies to “continue to work together to support Sweden’s accession into NATO as a top priority.” He highlights how “like Finland, Sweden’s integration as an Ally into NATO will also bring considerable strengths.”
Supporting other NATO aspirants and partners in Europe.
In light of the deteriorating security situation in Europe and beyond, a key theme throughout 2023, including in several resolutions, was the need for robust cooperation between the Alliance and its most vulnerable partners. The Assembly thus continued to encourage and complement NATO’s enhanced support for aspirants as well as partners at risk throughout 2023. In his report on NATO’s Open Door policy, Audronius Azubalis (Lithuania) highlights how past enlargements have strengthened the Alliance and argues that “the eventual membership of current NATO aspirants (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Sweden and Ukraine) will further reinforce this Alliance and will expand the area of democracy and stability in Europe.” Supporting Ukraine in defeating Russia’s aggression and advancing on its path to NATO membership remained a top priority for the Assembly in 2023. Assembly members also sought to maintain their support for Georgia, particularly through the Georgia-NATO Interparliamentary Council, while warning, when necessary, against the risk of backsliding in the country’s democratic progress. In the resolution on Black Sea security authored by Lord Lancaster (United Kingdom), the Assembly urges Allies “to quickly implement the enhanced tailored support packages for Georgia […], while continuing to actively support the Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia as well as support Georgia in [...] its efforts to progress its reform agenda.”
Parliaments play a crucial role in supporting and implementing NATO’s Open Door policy. At this crucial juncture of modern history, a proactive leadership of parliamentarians, as representatives of citizens, is again essential: decisions taken today will shape the future of the Euro-Atlantic community for years and decades to come.
Audronius Azubalis (Lithuania) PCNP Rapporteur
In October, Sweden hosted a Rose-Roth Seminar showcasing Allied and Swedish support for other NATO aspirants and partners at risk – Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Moldova.
“Partners at risk are on the frontlines of the struggle to protect the democratic ideals that bind us. Supporting them, as an Alliance, is therefore not just an option; it is a vital necessity,” pointed out Mimi Kodheli, head of Albania’s delegation and former Vice-President of the NATO PA, in her opening speech.
A second Rose-Roth Seminar, hosted by the Bosnian Parliament in Sarajevo in November, highlighted both how a clear majority in Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to look to EU and NATO membership for their future prosperity and to provide support in facing their ongoing challenges. Divisive rhetoric and malign external interference, particularly from Russia, threaten further instability and obstruct much-needed reforms, however.
Demonstrating their synergetic roles in supporting partners, the Assembly and NATO co-hosted study visits by parliamentarians from Serbia, the Assembly of Kosovo as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO Headquarters in the course of 2023.
Throughout 2023, Co-Rapporteurs Marcos Perestrello de Vasconcellos (Portugal) and Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (United Kingdom) continued to lead the Assembly’s review of its own partnerships. The review aims at bringing greater coherence and effectiveness in the Assembly’s engagement with partners in an environment of renewed strategic competition.