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Risch: Full Senate Should Quickly Ratify Finland’s, Sweden’s NATO Membership

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded committee passage of the protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and encouraged the full Senate to approve the resolution of ratification quickly.

“Putin’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has unified the NATO alliance in ways we haven’t seen in decades. Today’s bipartisan committee passage of the accession protocols for Finland and Sweden to join NATO is a testament to the importance of the alliance and U.S. support for its enlargement,” said Risch. “Both Finland and Sweden have been longtime friends and partners to both the United States and to NATO, and their strong political traditions and military capabilities will provide an immediate benefit to the alliance. As such, I led my colleagues in a resolution in support of their joining NATO earlier this year. Now, I hope the Senate will move swiftly to pass the resolution of ratification so the United States can do its part to ratify Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO as soon as possible.”

Next steps for the United States to ratify Finland and Sweden’s accession into NATO:

  • SFRC will draft a committee report to accompany today’s resolution of ratification and the protocols. This package will then be sent to the Senate floor.
  • The full Senate will consider the treaty and the resolution of ratification – hopefully the week of July 25. With a final vote of at least two-thirds in favor of the resolution of ratification, the Senate will formally provide its consent vote to the treaty.
  • The Biden Administration will then submit ratified documents to NATO.

On May 23, 2022, Risch led Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.) in introducing a resolution ( S.Res.646) in support of Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO. On June 9, 2022, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the resolution.

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