The joint petition of the Finnish president and prime minister to their parliament, requesting that it approve Finland's request to join NATO is a phenomenon of particular significance. Being a country of only 5.5 million inhabitants and yet with an area of ​​338,000 km2 (equivalent to 67% of Spanish territory), its entry into NATO has more geopolitical than strictly military significance. In the first place, it means a political strengthening of the Alliance by increasing the number of its members (from 30 to 31). It also shows the bankruptcy of that country's non-alignment policy, which has been in force for eight decades. It also marks the collapse of the 'status quo' in the North