Polish senators back NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
Polish senators on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve the enlargement of NATO to include Finland and Sweden in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The upper house of Poland’s parliament, the Senate, on Wednesday voted unanimously to enable President Andrzej Duda to ratify the NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
The upper house of Poland’s parliament passed legislation to enable President Andrzej Duda to ratify the two Nordic states’ membership of NATO, state news agency PAP reported.
The bill was earlier overwhelmingly approved by the lower chamber of Poland’s bicameral parliament.
NATO’s 30 allies on July 5 signed accession protocols for Finland and Sweden to join the Western military alliance, a move that still needs to be ratified by member states.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said earlier this month that the accession of Finland and Sweden would “strengthen NATO significantly.”
In an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio, Błaszczak added: “It’s very advantageous for Poland’s security because it alters the situation in the Baltic Sea region.”
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said last month that NATO’s invitation for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance was “a historic decision.”
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared in May that Poland would come to the aid of Finland and Sweden if the two countries were attacked by Russia before securing NATO membership.
Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland are among the countries that have already ratified Finland and Sweden’s NATO entry, the PAP news agency reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP
