According to the Finnish resource Iltalehti, Sweden and Finland are ready to join forces and, at the same time, send an application for membership of their countries to NATO not on the schedule but a month earlier. The Finnish parliament has already voted for joining the Alliance by a majority of votes, while Sweden is at the stage of collecting analytics about the security of the decision regarding membership in the military-political bloc. The announcement of the results was postponed from the planned May 31 to May 13.
On May 17-18, at the invitation of king Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Finnish president Sauli Väinämö Niinistö will arrive in Stockholm. Since the reins of government in Sweden are in the hands of parliament and not the monarchy, a meeting of states' governments will take place on the same days. According to Iltalehti, the forum's purpose will be to sum up the readiness of Sweden and Finland for NATO membership.
As soon as both states are ready, their applications will be posted within 7 days from May 16th. After that, NATO will invite the states to join the Alliance, and all parties to the agreement will sign ratification on the entry of countries into the military-political bloc.
