More countries ratify NATO accession for Finland, Sweden

Both house of the German parliament voted on Friday to approve Finland's and Sweden's bids to join the NATO defence bloc, reported dpa.

The decision received support from parties in the governing coalition and the opposition Christian Democrats and even partially from members of the far-right Alternative for Germany. Only members of the hard-left Die Linke opposed the legislation en masse.

"For a long time, Finns and Swedes were convinced that neutrality would guarantee their security. And one only abandons such a fundamental conviction when something really drastic has happened," Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in the plenary, adding, "Putin's brutal war of aggression on Ukraine is such a drastic event."

Meanwhile, Albania’s parliament on Thursday ratified the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland to the NATO.

The parliament ratified both bills by 114 votes in the 140-seat parliament.

None of the lawmakers present in the parliament voted against or abstained.

Earlier, Canada, Estonia, Norway, Denmark and Iceland have ratified the NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden.

On July 5, the ambassadors of the 30 NATO states signed the accession protocols at the organization's headquarters in Brussels, with the foreign ministers of the two Nordic countries in attendance.

The ratification requires unanimous approval of all 30 members.