Romania’s foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu hailed Tuesday’s signing of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO accession protocols in Brussels by the standing representatives of the 2 countries and of the Allied states, including Romania. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, in the current security context marked by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the 2 countries’ move proves their commitment to the democratic values and spirit that NATO safeguards and promotes. Romania, the ministry also says in a news release, has been one of the main supporters of the Open Door policy as central to NATO’s strategic approach in relation to its partner states. The decision to join the organization, Bucharest adds, is an option any state is free to take, based on meeting the criteria defined for the process and on the consensus of the Allies. No third party may affect NATO’s enlargement policy. Bucharest is also confident that Finland’s and Sweden’s accession will contribute to strengthening NATO security. After the representatives of the 2 countries signed the accession protocol, each NATO country’s parliament must ratify the decision, which may take up to one year. Turkey is the only NATO member to make ratification conditional on commitments regarding terrorism on the part of the 2 Nordic countries.
