Sweden and Finland set to join NATO in May

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Any guesses on who will vote against the accession treaty in the US? Paul and Lee feel like automatics given they voted against Montenegro. Does anyone join them?

The usual suspects: MTG, Gosar, Tlaib, Omar, among a few others. Just the worst members of congress from both parties.

House doesn't vote on treaties.

Is this being done with the formal constitutional treaty method? That is so rarely used.

I believe for NATO accession it has to be.

[Hindsight was 2020]

The German Bundestag was the third parliament of a NATO member country (after Estonia and Canada) to approve Finland's and Sweden's request for NATO membership.
All Bundestag factions voted Yes on the membership application - but one. Take a guess at which party isn't fond of Finland and Sweden...

Linke is the best party.

If you told me that Santander was a big fan of a particular German political party the Linke wouldn’t of been my first guess 

[President Johnson]

Any guesses on who will vote against the accession treaty in the US? Paul and Lee feel like automatics given they voted against Montenegro. Does anyone join them?

The usual suspects: MTG, Gosar, Tlaib, Omar, among a few others. Just the worst members of congress from both parties.

House doesn't vote on treaties.

Is this being done with the formal constitutional treaty method? That is so rarely used.

I believe for NATO accession it has to be.

Yeah, I thought the same as jfern. Not sure whether admission of Finland and Sweden is a treaty in that sense, or whether it just needs a federal law that authorizes the exeuctive branch or the president to approve in the name of the United States.

[Storr]

Finnish and Swedish NATO accession has been ratified by [assuming royal assent will be given in constitutional monarchies]: Albania, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany (needs Presidential assent), Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.


The Lithuanian Seimas is scheduled to vote on the 13th, 12:15 for Sweden, 12:25 for Finland. (That is, if I'm understanding the google translation of tomorrow's agenda correctly. Finnish and Swedish NATO accession may only be submitted tomorrow and voted on the next day the full Seimas meets, the 19th.)

The Latvian Saeima is scheduled to vote on the 14th, 09:00.

The Croatian Parliament is scheduled to vote on the 15th, 12:00.

The Polish Sejm has already voted in favor 440-1-1 on the 7th, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the 20th, 11:00.


https://twitter.com/MFA_Lu/status/1546853143455186944?s=20&t=FPupA5p1ov9JdrH...

[AndyHogan14]

I was looking the other day, but couldn't find it anywhere on the US Senate schedule. Has Schumer said anything about when he might schedule a vote?

EDIT: It looks like the White House just sent over the ratification request to the Senate yesterday (link), so hopefully there will be a vote scheduled soon.

[AndyHogan14]

I was looking the other day, but couldn't find it anywhere on the US Senate schedule. Has Schumer said anything about when he might schedule a vote?

EDIT: It looks like the White House just sent over the ratification request to the Senate yesterday (link), so hopefully there will be a vote scheduled soon.

The Foreign Relations Committee is taking up the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO at their next meeting on July 19 at 2:30 ET (link).

[Storr]

Finnish and Swedish NATO accession has been ratified by [assuming royal assent will be given in constitutional monarchies]: Albania, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany (needs Presidential assent), Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.


The Lithuanian Seimas is scheduled to vote on the 13th, 12:15 for Sweden, 12:25 for Finland. (That is, if I'm understanding the google translation of tomorrow's agenda correctly. Finnish and Swedish NATO accession may only be submitted tomorrow and voted on the next day the full Seimas meets, the 19th.)

The Latvian Saeima is scheduled to vote on the 14th, 09:00.

The Croatian Parliament is scheduled to vote on the 15th, 12:00.

The Polish Sejm has already voted in favor 440-1-1 on the 7th, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the 20th, 11:00.


https://twitter.com/MFA_Lu/status/1546853143455186944?s=20&t=FPupA5p1ov9JdrH...

Thanks to whoever updates the Sweden-NATO relations wikipedia page:

The Slovenian National Assembly will vote on the 14th.

The Lithuanian Seimas will vote on the 20th, 10:05 for Sweden, 10:15 for Finland.

The French Senate will vote on the 21st.

The Bulgarian National Assembly voted 195-11 in favor, today.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Any word on Turkey and Hungary? They're the only ones from which ratification is remotely in doubt, I reckon.

[Storr]

Finnish and Swedish NATO accession has been ratified by [assuming royal assent will be given in constitutional monarchies]: Albania, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany (needs Presidential assent), Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.


The Lithuanian Seimas is scheduled to vote on the 13th, 12:15 for Sweden, 12:25 for Finland. (That is, if I'm understanding the google translation of tomorrow's agenda correctly. Finnish and Swedish NATO accession may only be submitted tomorrow and voted on the next day the full Seimas meets, the 19th.)

The Latvian Saeima is scheduled to vote on the 14th, 09:00.

The Croatian Parliament is scheduled to vote on the 15th, 12:00.

The Polish Sejm has already voted in favor 440-1-1 on the 7th, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the 20th, 11:00.


https://twitter.com/MFA_Lu/status/1546853143455186944?s=20&t=FPupA5p1ov9JdrH...

Thanks to whoever updates the Sweden-NATO relations wikipedia page:

The Slovenian National Assembly will vote on the 14th.

The Lithuanian Seimas will vote on the 20th, 10:05 for Sweden, 10:15 for Finland.

The French Senate will vote on the 21st.

The Bulgarian National Assembly voted 195-11 in favor, today.

The Slovenian National Assembly voted yesterday 77-5 for Sweden, 76-5 for Finland.

The Latvian Saeima voted yesterday 78-0 for Sweden, 77-0 for Finland. President Egils Levits signed the ratification protocols today.

The Croatian Parliament voted today 125-3 for Sweden, 124-3 for Finland.

[CumbrianLefty]

Who are the dissenting votes here, just fringe parties (whether right, left or both)?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Finnish and Swedish NATO accession has been ratified by [assuming royal assent will be given in constitutional monarchies]: Albania, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany (needs Presidential assent), Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom.


The Lithuanian Seimas is scheduled to vote on the 13th, 12:15 for Sweden, 12:25 for Finland. (That is, if I'm understanding the google translation of tomorrow's agenda correctly. Finnish and Swedish NATO accession may only be submitted tomorrow and voted on the next day the full Seimas meets, the 19th.)

The Latvian Saeima is scheduled to vote on the 14th, 09:00.

The Croatian Parliament is scheduled to vote on the 15th, 12:00.

The Polish Sejm has already voted in favor 440-1-1 on the 7th, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the 20th, 11:00.


https://twitter.com/MFA_Lu/status/1546853143455186944?s=20&t=FPupA5p1ov9JdrH...

Thanks to whoever updates the Sweden-NATO relations wikipedia page:

The Slovenian National Assembly will vote on the 14th.

The Lithuanian Seimas will vote on the 20th, 10:05 for Sweden, 10:15 for Finland.

The French Senate will vote on the 21st.

The Bulgarian National Assembly voted 195-11 in favor, today.

The Slovenian National Assembly voted yesterday 77-5 for Sweden, 76-5 for Finland.

The Latvian Saeima voted yesterday 78-0 for Sweden, 77-0 for Finland. President Egils Levits signed the ratification protocols today.

The Croatian Parliament voted today 125-3 for Sweden, 124-3 for Finland.

Weird that Sweden got exactly one more vote than Finland in all three of those countries.

[Frodo]

Any word on Turkey and Hungary? They're the only ones from which ratification is remotely in doubt, I reckon.

^^^^^^^

Does anyone know? 

[DavidB.]

The Slovenian National Assembly voted yesterday 77-5 for Sweden, 76-5 for Finland.

The Latvian Saeima voted yesterday 78-0 for Sweden, 77-0 for Finland. President Egils Levits signed the ratification protocols today.

The Croatian Parliament voted today 125-3 for Sweden, 124-3 for Finland.

On July 7th, Dutch parliament voted 142-8 in favor of both countries joining (they were combined in the vote). Only FVD and its most recent splitoff BVNL voted against.

[Storr]

Things seems to be going fast. We've reached the halfway mark, with 15 countries having passed NATO expansion (only 9 have officially notified the US, though): Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom.

I haven't found anything about Hungary or Turkey planning to vote.

July 18:

President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria gave assent.  

July 20:

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies voted 227-0-3 and the Senate voted 94-0, the same for both Sweden and Finland.

The Polish senate voted 96-0 for Sweden, 98-0 for Finland.

The Lithuanian Seimas voted 112-1 for Sweden, 111-0 for Finland. President Gitanas Nausėda on the same day.

The Belgian Chamber of Deputies voted 121-11 for both Sweden and Finland.

July 21:

The French Senate voted 323-17-8 for both Sweden and Finland. The National Assembly is planned to vote on August 2.

July 22:

President Klaus Iohannis of Romania gave assent.

President Andrzej Duda of Poland gave assent.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg gave promulgation.

[Oryxslayer]

Will be interesting to see what happens in the French assembly- there are obviously surplus votes, but FI and RN might have a lot of no votes.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The situation in Italy might also throw a wrench into things. I'm not clear if a dissolved parliament still has the power to ratify treaties, so we might have to wait until October before we see any action on that front (and even then, you could see potential opposition from parts of the right-wing coalition if they control the next parliament, especially Lega). This is really terrible timing all around.

[Ethelberth]

The situation in Italy might also throw a wrench into things. I'm not clear if a dissolved parliament still has the power to ratify treaties, so we might have to wait until October before we see any action on that front (and even then, you could see potential opposition from parts of the right-wing coalition if they control the next parliament, especially Lega). This is really terrible timing all around.

Pope lives in Rome.

[Storr]

The situation in Italy might also throw a wrench into things. I'm not clear if a dissolved parliament still has the power to ratify treaties, so we might have to wait until October before we see any action on that front (and even then, you could see potential opposition from parts of the right-wing coalition if they control the next parliament, especially Lega). This is really terrible timing all around.

Surprisingly, the Chamber of Deputies (according to this wikipedia source) is planning to vote on August 1.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies is planning to vote in "late August".

The Portuguese Assembly is planning to vote "in September".

Today (July 27), the North Macedonian Assembly voted today 103-2 for both Sweden and Finland:

https://twitter.com/SlavjankaPetrov/status/1552245721142857731?s=20&t=t9a0Cd...

[Storr]

The situation in Italy might also throw a wrench into things. I'm not clear if a dissolved parliament still has the power to ratify treaties, so we might have to wait until October before we see any action on that front (and even then, you could see potential opposition from parts of the right-wing coalition if they control the next parliament, especially Lega). This is really terrible timing all around.

Surprisingly, the Chamber of Deputies (according to this wikipedia source) is planning to vote on August 1.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies is planning to vote in "late August".

The Portuguese Assembly is planning to vote "in September".

Today (July 27), the North Macedonian Assembly voted today 103-2 for both Sweden and Finland:

https://twitter.com/SlavjankaPetrov/status/1552245721142857731?s=20&t=t9a0Cd...

And one day later, Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski gave assent: "The ratification of the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO confirms our support for the open door policy.

 The expansion of the Alliance with both countries is a contribution to the collective security of the Euro-Atlantic region."

https://twitter.com/SPendarovski/status/1552659668413079554?s=20&t=FNpJQpPmw...

[Storr]

The Montenegrin Parliament voted yesterday (July 28th) 57-3-11 for Finland, 57-2-11 for Sweden. I guess Dejan Đurović didn't feel it was worth voting against Swedish NATO membership. As you'd expect, all the members who voted "PROTIV" appear to be Serb nationalists.

The US Senate is scheduled to vote on August 1st!

[Storr]

The Montenegrin Parliament voted yesterday (July 28th) 57-3-11 for Finland, 57-2-11 for Sweden. I guess Dejan Đurović didn't feel it was worth voting against Swedish NATO membership. As you'd expect, all the members who voted "PROTIV" appear to be Serb nationalists.

The US Senate is scheduled to vote on August 1st!

Evidently the Italian National Assembly is voting tomorrow and the US Senate isn't voting today, but lol:

https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1554095814611443712?s=20&t=OAr5_W...

[Isaak]

The 'let's prioritize Asia' argument is of course stupid (and I don't think that Hawley seriously believes in it) but he's right about European NATO members spending way too little on their militaries.

[Torie]

I can't quite get my mind to get a grip on the concept that Finland and Sweden joining NATO will degrade the US's ability to contain the PRC's ambitions. Being in NATO or not, the idea that in the face of a Russian invasion of those counties, the US could prudently just put that theater of operations on ignore as if nothing had happened, and just tend to its knitting in the seas off China coast, suggests a total disconnect from reality to me. I am not sure just which asteroid Hawley inhabits, but hopefully it will be leaving the solar system soon.

[CumbrianLefty]

The 'let's prioritize Asia' argument is of course stupid (and I don't think that Hawley seriously believes in it) but he's right about European NATO members spending way too little on their militaries.

Its the GOP we are talking about here, rule literally nothing out.

[Sir Mohamed]

The Montenegrin Parliament voted yesterday (July 28th) 57-3-11 for Finland, 57-2-11 for Sweden. I guess Dejan Đurović didn't feel it was worth voting against Swedish NATO membership. As you'd expect, all the members who voted "PROTIV" appear to be Serb nationalists.

The US Senate is scheduled to vote on August 1st!

Evidently the Italian National Assembly is voting tomorrow and the US Senate isn't voting today, but lol:

https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1554095814611443712?s=20&t=OAr5_W...

McCaskill -> Hawley was possibly one of the worst senate downgrades EVER.