US Senate has majority to approve Finland and Sweden membership of NATO

A two-thirds majority of the Senate of United States approved, this Wednesday (3), the accession of the Finland and gives Sweden The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

67 votes were needed. So far, the count is at 74 in favor and 1 against.

In addition to the US, France and Italy have also given the go-ahead for the countries to join the group in recent days.

Finland and Sweden applied for membership in May 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine for the Russia .

On July 5, the 30 member states signed the membership agreement to allow the two nations to join the military alliance.

From that date, the two countries were able to participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence, but they were not protected by Article Fifth, the defense clause that states that an attack on an ally is an attack against all.

Accession needs to be approved by the parliaments of all 30 members before Finland and Sweden can be protected by the defense clause. The process, however, can take up to a year.

When confirmed, this will be the most significant expansion of the alliance since the mid-1990s.

Check the list of member states that have ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO:

• Canada – 5th of July
• Denmark – 5th of July
• Iceland – 5th of July
• Norway – 5th of July
• Estonia – 6th of July
• UK – 6th of July
• Albania – July 7th
• Germany – 8th of July
• Netherlands – 12th of July
• Luxembourg – 12 July
• Bulgaria – 13th of July
• Latvia – July 14th
• Slovenia – 14th of July
• Croatia – 15th of July
• Poland – 20th of July
• Lithuania – 20th of July
• Belgium – 20th of July
• Romania – July 21
• North Macedonia – July 27
• Montenegro – July 28
• France – August 2
• Italy – August 3
• United States – August 3

Ratification by the parliaments of the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey still needs to be ratified.

*With information from Reuters