III 

Calendar No. 414 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 646 

Expressing the Senate’s support for Finland and Sweden’s accession into 

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the expedited ratification of accession protocols. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2022 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MCCONNELL, 

Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. TILLIS, 

Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. ROSEN, and Mr. SHELBY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 14, 2022 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment to the preamble 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the Senate’s support for Finland and Sweden’s 

accession into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 

(NATO) and the expedited ratification of accession protocols. 

Whereas Sweden and Finland are substantial contributors to 

the international community and play important roles in 

the United Nations, the European Union, the OrganizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Jun 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR646.RS SR646

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•SRES 646 RS 

tion for Security Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations; 

Whereas, during the Cold War and since its end, Sweden and 

Finland sought to maintain peace in their region through 

policies of military non-alignment and neutral relations 

between Russia and the West, while nonetheless remaining true to their values and condemning the Russian government’s authoritarian acts; 

Whereas the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation 

on February 24, 2022, forced the transatlantic community to reconsider the geopolitical stability of their region; 

Whereas NATO is the most successful political-military alliance in history and, guided by a set of common values, 

provides collective defense to nearly 1,000,000,000 people 

living in its member nations; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine marks 

the largest military conflict in Europe since World War 

II, representing a dramatic shift for European security 

and requiring NATO to change its policies to increase, 

modernize, and enhance its force posture and to create 

more strategic depth to adequately confront the new challenges, specifically those posed by Russia and China; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have provided incredible support to NATO-led operations, such as the International 

Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, KFOR in 

Kosovo, and peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and 

Herzegovina; 

Whereas both Finland and Sweden have been model members 

of NATO’s Partnership Interoperability Initiative since 

its founding in 2014, and of NATO’s Partnership for 

Peace since its founding in 1994; 


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•SRES 646 RS 

Whereas NATO has a range of capabilities that can enhance 

the ability of Sweden and Finland to defend and deter 

conflict in their region; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have well-developed professional militaries and sophisticated defense industries that 

can provide NATO with new capabilities to bolster collective defense; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have proven their willingness 

and capability to contribute to cooperative international 

security efforts by donating military and humanitarian 

assistance to Ukraine and imposing coordinated sanctions 

on Russia; 

Whereas each prospective NATO member is expected to have 

a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy, fair treatment of minority populations, a 

commitment to resolve conflicts peacefully, an ability and 

willingness to make contribution to NATO operations, 

and a commitment to democratic civil-military relations 

and institutions; 

Whereas, alongside a number of our European allies, Finland 

and Sweden have recently announced the expansion and 

reform of their militaries, efforts that can be maximized 

if channeled toward collective security through the NATO 

framework; 

Whereas the Arctic region, which holds increasing importance 

for United States and European security, has already 

seen encroachments from Russia and China, and Sweden 

and Finland are uniquely poised to address these regional 

challenges and help NATO confront them; and 


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•SRES 646 RS 

Whereas Russia has threatened Sweden and Finland with 

‘‘serious military and political consequences should it 

choose to join NATO’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Whereas Sweden and Finland are substantial contributors to 

the international community and play important roles in 

the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations; 

Whereas, during the Cold War and since its end, Sweden and 

Finland sought to maintain peace in their region through 

policies of military non-alignment and neutral relations 

between Russia and the West, while nonetheless remaining 

true to their values and condemning the Russian government’s authoritarian acts; 

Whereas the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 

February 24, 2022, forced the transatlantic community to 

reconsider the geopolitical stability of their region; 

Whereas NATO is the most successful political-military alliance in history and, guided by a set of common values, 

provides collective defense to nearly 1,000,000,000 people 

living in its member nations; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine marks 

the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II, 

representing a dramatic shift for European security and 

requiring NATO to change its policies to increase, modernize, and enhance its force posture and to create more 

strategic depth to adequately confront the new challenges, 

specifically those posed by Russia and China; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have provided incredible support 

to NATO-led operations, such as the International SecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:40 Jun 15, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR646.RS SR646

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•SRES 646 RS 

rity Assistance Force in Afghanistan, KFOR in Kosovo, 

and peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina; 

Whereas both Finland and Sweden have been model members 

of NATO’s Partnership Interoperability Initiative since its 

founding in 2014, and of NATO’s Partnership for Peace 

since its founding in 1994; 

Whereas NATO has a range of capabilities that can enhance 

the ability of Sweden and Finland to defend and deter 

conflict in their region; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have well-developed professional 

militaries and sophisticated defense industries that can 

provide NATO with new capabilities to bolster collective 

defense; 

Whereas Sweden and Finland have proven their willingness 

and capability to contribute to cooperative international 

security efforts by donating military and humanitarian 

assistance to Ukraine and imposing coordinated sanctions 

on Russia; 

Whereas Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom cut off 

natural gas exports to Finland and NATO allies, thereby 

further demonstrating Russia’s use of gas exports to undermine transatlantic security and pressure United States allies and partners; 

Whereas each prospective NATO member is expected to have a 

functioning democratic political system based on a market 

economy, fair treatment of minority populations, a commitment to resolve conflicts peacefully, an ability and willingness to make contribution to NATO operations, and a 

commitment to democratic civil-military relations and institutions; 


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•SRES 646 RS 

Whereas, alongside a number of our European allies, Finland 

and Sweden have recently announced the expansion and 

reform of their militaries, efforts that can be maximized if 

channeled toward collective security through the NATO 

framework; 

Whereas the Arctic region, which holds increasing importance 

for United States and European security, has already seen 

encroachments from Russia and China, and Sweden and 

Finland are uniquely poised to address these regional challenges and help NATO confront them; and 

Whereas Russia has threatened Sweden and Finland with ‘‘serious military and political consequences should it choose 

to join NATO’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) welcomes Finland and Sweden’s decision to 

3 join NATO; 

4 (2) acknowledges that Russia’s invasion of 

5 Ukraine has dramatically changed the security situa6 tion in Europe, and that the reform and expansion 

7 of NATO is key to ensuring a safe and prosperous 

8 future for the United States and critical allies and 

9 partners; 

10 (3) recognizes that Sweden and Finland have 

11 surpassed the qualifications expected of prospective 

12 members and that both countries have much to con13 tribute and gain from membership in the NATO alli14 ance; 


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•SRES 646 RS 

1 (4) reaffirms its support for NATO’s collective 

2 security commitment and for maximizing our allies’ 

3 combined defense capabilities through NATO coordi4 nation and cooperation; 

5 (5) calls on the President to move expeditiously 

6 to complete all documents and reports needed to 

7 support the Senate’s approval of the accession proto8 cols; and 

9 (6) calls on all NATO members to move rapidly 

10 to complete their ratification processes. 


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Calendar No. 414 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 646 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the Senate’s support for Finland and 

cation of accession protocols. ty Organization (NATO) and the expedited ratifiSweden’s accession into the North Atlantic TreaJUNE 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment to the preamble 


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