The Defense Minister, Helena Carreiras, said this Thursday that it is the Government’s objective that Portugal complete the national ratification processes for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO as soon as possible.
This position was conveyed by the head of the Defense portfolio at a press conference, after the Council of Ministers approved two resolutions, which will soon be presented to the Assembly of the Republic, on the protocols on the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, in its acronym in English).
In front of the journalists, Helena Carreiras said that the resolutions are now going to parliament and that the ratification process by the Portuguese State will only be concluded with the promulgation of the diplomas by the President of the Republic.
This was an important step on the part of the Government. The conclusion of the ratification will now depend on the calendar of the Assembly of the Republic. The intention is for it to happen as soon as possible”, declared the Defense Minister.
Helena Carreiras then mentioned that, in the set of NATO countries, 11 states have already ratified the protocols for the accession of Sweden and Finland, and that in Portugal “everything possible is being done to complete this process”.
“The accession procedure for new states is provided for in article 10 of NATO and the application to join this organization is a free and sovereign initiative of any country. From the outset, Portugal, as a founding member of the Atlantic Alliance, has considered that other countries can join NATO if they have the capacity to promote their objectives, committing themselves to collective defense for the maintenance of peace and stability in the euro. Atlantic,” she said.
According to the Defense Minister, “this is exactly Portugal’s position in relation to Finland and Sweden, countries that meet these criteria”.
“These are countries that will strengthen the capacity of NATO promote security and stability. They have been partners in the Atlantic Alliance since the early 1990s,″ he added.
Source: Observadora
