Europe Center in the News

Wieslander quoted in Financial Times on NATO application security dilemmas

By Anna Wieslander

The period between a NATO application and Article 5 security guarantees poses several security dilemmas for Sweden and Finland. “By various informal steps and declarations in this period by major allies and working with NATO, I think we’ll get through this period,” she told the Financial Times.

Wieslander quoted by Washington Post on the expected Finnish NATO application

By Anna Wieslander

With Finland expected to join NATO, the High-North and Baltic Sea region “will all be one military-strategic arena now, especially if you look from the Russian side,” said Anna Wieslander, director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council. “Putin miscalculated,” she said. “This is not what he foresaw.”

Wieslander quoted by Financial Times on the politics of NATO in Sweden

By Anna Wieslander

“It is very much part of the Social Democrat identity — it gave us a special space of manoeuvre in international politics in terms of mediation, peace talks and arms control. That’s the main explanation of why we’re acting so slowly now,” says Anna Wieslander, director for northern Europe at the Atlantic Council.

Wieslander quoted in POLITICO on Swedish & Finnish NATO membership

By Anna Wieslander

“This is a period of vulnerability, and that has to be recognized and prepared for,” Anna Wieslander told Politico.

Wieslander interviewed by New York Times on Swedish & Finnish NATO membership

By Anna Wieslander

The New York Times writes, “However complicated NATO membership looks for Sweden politically, it would be dangerous to be left outside the alliance if Finland joins, since the two countries are each other’s closest defense partners and plan for war together, Ms. Wieslander, a Swede who is the Atlantic Council’s director for Northern Europe, said […]

Wieslander interviewed by Swedish National Radio’s “USA Podcast” on Russia and NATO

By Anna Wieslander

Director for Northern Europe Anna Wieslander spoke about President Joe Biden calling Russia’s war in Ukraine a genocide as well as the history of NATO and the impact of the United States’ security blanket for small European states.

Dungan quoted in CNN: Trump-style populism rises in US and Europe as Putin assaults world order

Wieslander joins “Brussels Sprouts” to talk about Swedish & Finnish NATO membership

By Anna Wieslander

Wieslander quoted in Foreign Policy on Nordic NATO debate

By Anna Wieslander

“Although Finland is edging closer to NATO membership than Sweden, most analysts and diplomats agree that the countries are a package deal. If one joins, the other is likely to follow suit. Given their shared geography on the Scandinavian Peninsula—along with NATO member Norway—the alliance would prefer if the two countries joined at the same […]

Wieslander quoted in Euronews on potential Swedish NATO membership

By Anna Wieslander

“I think we had a shift in public opinion as well as Finland did, but the Finns had a much larger shift” explains Anna Wieslander, Director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council. “One of the reasons we experts estimated that Sweden would move first is that since 2013 we had support that could be up to […]