US Senate votes overwhelmingly to approve accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO

The US Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO on Wednesday, with the resolution gaining the support of 95 senators.

The single dissenting vote came from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who argued that there should be less focus on security in Europe and much more on the threat from China.

US President Joe Biden has strongly backed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, and referred the matter to the Senate for consideration in July.

Sweden and Finland applied to join the Western defence alliance in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Until now, the two countries have been close partners, but not members, of NATO.

Including the United States, 23 of the 30 NATO members have thus given their consent to the double accession.

On Wednesday evening, Italy joined these ranks: After the Chamber of Deputies at the beginning of the week, the Senate - the second chamber of the Italian parliament - also voted in favour of the alliance's northern enlargement.

The votes in Washington and Rome followed one in France's National Assembly on Tuesday, in which 209 deputies voted in favour of Swedish and Finnish membership, while 46 voted against. The Senate, the second chamber of the French parliament, voted to approve the accession a fortnight ago.

Before the accession protocols can enter into force, they must be ratified by all 30 NATO member states.