The committee of the Greek Parliament on national defense and foreign affairs has supported the ratification of the protocol on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, Greek media reported on Friday
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th September, 2022) The committee of the Greek Parliament on national defense and foreign affairs has supported the ratification of the protocol on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, Greek media reported on Friday.
The documents for ratification were submitted to the parliament on Monday, and on Thursday, they were discussed in the committee.
The ratification was supported by the ruling New Democracy party, the opposition Coalition of Radical Left (Syriza) party, and the left PASOK-KINAL party and opposed by the Communist Party of Greece and the left MeRA25 party, Athens-Macedonian news Agency said, adding that the right Greek Solution party abstained and will make the final decision during the discussion at the plenary session.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias reportedly said that support for the NATO enlargement is a strategic choice to strengthen national interests.
Former foreign minister and SYRIZA member Yorgos Katrungalos noted that the conflict in Ukraine marks the end of countries' neutrality. He also added that his party wants to see a strong Europe that will oppose US strategic interests.
On July 5, the permanent representatives of NATO member states signed accession protocols for Finland and Sweden at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. All members of the bloc have to ratify the protocols according to their national legislation. As of today, 24 countries out of 30 have already completed the formal procedure to welcome Finland and Sweden to the alliance. The applications have not yet been ratified by Spain, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey and Hungary.
