Finland and Sweden's NATO entry shows us that this defensive military alliance, the strongest in history, is the security guarantee whereby Western-style democracies can protect their way of life, welfare and prospects for a fully-developed future, said Senate President Nicolae Ciuca.
"Finland and Sweden applied together, but due to geopolitical complications, the Finnish flag was raised at the NATO headquarters one year earlier. Finland and Sweden's renouncing neutrality closes two history chapters that have been open since the period of World War II. The two Nordic states remained in the Western bloc only economy-wise, with Finland avoiding the establishment of a communist regime exactly through this foreign policy of military neutrality. The admission of the two states to NATO shows us that the strongest defensive military alliance in history serves as the security guarantee through which Western-style democracies can protect their way of life, welfare and prospects for a fully-developed future," Ciuca wrote on Monday evening on Facebook.
His remarks follow the Hungarian Parliament's approval vote for Sweden's NATO bid, which thus becomes the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Alliance.
The Hungarian Parliament ratified on Monday Sweden's bid to join NATO, the last step for this Scandinavian country that expressed its desire to join the military alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago, AFP reports.
After almost two years of waiting, the Budapest Parliament approved Sweden's candidacy by an overwhelming majority (188 votes of a total of 199).