Swedes, Finns Favor NATO Entry in Shift After Ukraine War

(Bloomberg) -- Swedes and Finns are increasingly in favor of joining the NATO defense bloc after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding pressure on the countries' leaders to change long-standing policies of military non-alignment.

Polls released in the two Nordic countries on Friday showed 51% of Swedes and 48% of Finns now back joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's the first time a Swedish majority favors the entry, while an earlier poll in Finland has also indicated majority support.

Authorities have so far indicated no rush for the move that President Vladimir Putin's administration has warned would result in “military and political” repercussions.

“To change the defense doctrine is a very huge decision, you don't do it over night and you can't do it because of opinion polls,” Sweden's Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told reporters in Copenhagen, adding Sweden continues to deepen cooperation with NATO members and Finland.

NATO decided to strengthen information-sharing with both countries, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Friday.

Finland has the European Union's longest border with Russia at 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), while Sweden's island of Gotland is in a strategically important location in the Baltic Sea, not far from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Four Russian combat aircraft violated Swedish airspace east of Gotland on Wednesday, coinciding with a military exercise by Swedish and Finnish forces around the island.

In the last week, Finnish politicians have held a raft of meetings to discuss how to respond to Russia's aggression against its neighbor, and on Friday, the nation's president, Sauli Niinisto, will visit President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C.

In a survey commissioned by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, 51% of respondents said they think Sweden should join the 30-member alliance, with 27% opposed. The poll shows a clear shift from January, when 42% backed Swedish membership in the alliance.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden's prime minister Magdalena Andersson has repeatedly rebutted calls for the country to join NATO, stressing the importance of avoiding sudden policy shifts in a tense situation. The country's parliament, meanwhile, is divided on the issue, as opposition parties that favor joining the alliance control more than 40% of the seats.

The support for NATO entry has also jumped dramatically in Finland. In a poll published by the biggest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, 48% of respondents supported joining the bloc, up 20 percentage points from January. It's the highest support in the two decades the newspaper has surveyed people on the topic.

The Finnish poll, conducted by Kantar TNS, collected 501 responses from Feb. 28 to March 3, and had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

Austria, another European Union nation in proximity of the conflict, has so far shown little ambition to seek NATO membership. Its military neutrality was a condition of regaining independence in 1955 and is enshrined in its constitution.