Finland declares its interest to accede to NATO

On Tuesday 17 May 2022, the President of the Republic of Finland decided, on the proposal of the Government, to notify the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of Finland’s interest to engage in talks on accession to NATO and appointed a delegation to Finland’s accession talks to be held with NATO and its member countries.

Finland’s declaration of its interest to accede to NATO and engage in accession talks will be in the form of a letter signed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs delivered to the NATO Secretary General. After receiving the letter, NATO will process the matter and decide on inviting Finland to accession talks. 

Accession talks will cover political, legal, resource, information security, and defence and military issues.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will lead Finland’s delegation, which was appointed by the President of the Republic, and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will serve as Alternate Head of Delegation. The delegation includes members from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Command of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has also appointed the advisors of the delegation.

Inquiries:
Joel Linnainmäki, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 466
Tanja Jääskeläinen, Deputy Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. + 358 295 350 303
Kaija Suvanto, Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. + 358 295 351 159, [email protected]