Nordic countries Sweden and Finland to jointly submit applications to join NATO today

Nordic countries Sweden and Finland will jointly submit their applications to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) today.

During a joint press conference, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto announced their decision to submit their NATO bids together.

Finland's parliament yesterday approved the country's bid for NATO membership, with 188 out of 200 lawmakers supporting the decision and eight voting against it. President Niinisto will now have to sign the application and hand it to NATO's headquarters in Brussels.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said US President Joe Biden



will host his Finnish counterpart and the Swedish prime minister at the White House tomorrow for talks on the two nations' NATO applications. 

The leaders will discuss Finland's and Sweden's NATO applications and European security, as well as strengthening our close partnerships across a range of global issues and support for Ukraine, she added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Germany will increase military cooperation with Sweden and Finland during the application process.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned NATO’s expansion may trigger a response from Moscow.