Dear subscribers,
The Finnish and Swedish candidatures for NATO are always approached under the same prism: the two Nordic countries would come to put themselves under the umbrella of the Alliance, worried by the Russian threat.
This is of course the case.
But that should not eclipse another crucial point: far from being a burden for NATO, their membership would above all constitute a great asset.
For their geographical location, but also for their impressive military capabilities, explains
Die Welt
in a strictly German analysis.
It has already been pointed out: with the integration of Finland into NATO, the Alliance would share an additional 1,300 kilometers of borders with Russia.
Above all, it would strengthen its grip on the Baltic Sea, which it would henceforth encompass along the entire northern coast.
Thus, the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad would only have NATO members for neighbors.
The accession of Sweden and Finland would fill a “
strategic void
” in the North, to use the expression of Kate Hansen Bundt, secretary general of the Norwegian Atlantic Committee.
“
Within a few years, the common air defense of the Nordic countries will have 150 F-35 fighter planes and 72 operational Swedish JAS Gripen fighter planes
,” she explains in a note for the think tank Carnegie Europe.
With the capabilities of Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, Northern Europe will now have 250 to 300 F-35s, plus the Swedish JAS, to secure NATO's northern flank and the transatlantic sea link.
Another advantage specific to Finland: its reserve army, which has 900,000 men for 5.5 million inhabitants.
Which makes it the first reserve army in Europe.
Without forgetting its artillery, its reconnaissance services and these “
cyber capacities
”, reputed to be the most modern in Europe, points out the former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, in a note for the
Financial Times
.
Sweden is not outdone in terms of armaments, especially with its air and naval forces.
Finally, the two countries already meet NATO standards.
Since the 1990s, they have taken part in training with the countries of the Alliance.
"
No candidate could be more compatible with NATO than these two countries
", concludes Alexander Stubb in the same note.
READ DIE WELT'S ANALYSIS
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