After the entry of Finland and Sweden into the Atlantic Alliance, the entire Baltic Sea basin is occupied by NATO and Russia troops, with the exception of Åland, a picturesque Finnish archipelago of just 30,000 inhabitants that wants to remain the only non-militarized area of the region.

Composed of 6,757 islands and islets, of which only 60 are inhabited, this archipelago is strategically located in the heart of the Baltic, halfway between Turku, the former capital of Finland, and Stockholm, the Swedish capital.

Åland (Ahvenanmaa, in Finnish) is the only autonomous region of Finland and, despite its small population, it has its own parliament (Lagting) and an autonomous government, bodies that manage all competences except for foreign policy, customs and the judicial system.

The relationship of this archipelago with the European Union (EU) is regulated in a protocol that contains special provisions for the purchase of real estate, the right to establish business and the sale of tax-free products to travelers.

But the most peculiar thing about Åland is that international treaties stipulate that it is a demilitarized region, so it is forbidden to establish military bases, deploy troops and even carry out training maneuvers in its territory.

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The demilitarization of Åland dates back to 1856, the year in which Russia – to which Finland then belonged – lost the Crimean war against an alliance formed by the United Kingdom, France and the Ottoman Empire.

Following the defeat, Russia was forced to sign the so-called Åland Convention, a document that established the demilitarization and neutralization of the archipelago, which in practice prevented both the fortification of the islands and their use in an eventual war offensive against another country.

Once Finland became independent from Russia in 1917, the Nordic country granted Åland a status of autonomy that guaranteed the right to self-government and to maintain its language (Swedish), its culture and its local customs.

At the same time, Helsinki ratified the provisions contained in the Åland Convention, which were confirmed by the international community in the Treaty of Paris of 1947 that followed the Second World War.

While militarism spreads throughout Europe as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and many countries increase defense spending, accelerate the purchase of weapons and consider restoring compulsory military service, in Åland they prefer to maintain their status as a demilitarized region.

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“I would say that a very clear majority of Åland residents believe that this solution is something that has been very useful in the past and that it will also be useful in the future,” Johan Ehn, representative of the autonomous region in Helsinki, said in an interview with EFE.

Ehn admits that the bellicism of Russia, a country with which Finland shares 1,340 kilometers of border, has aroused some fear among the population of the archipelago, although he does not believe that it is greater than in other European regions because it cannot deploy troops on its islands.

“We have a neighbor to the east – Russia – who is behaving very seriously, and it is clear that in Åland we are worried and that there is also some fear about it, but neither more nor less than in other parts of the country, in Scandinavia or in Europe,” he said.

In any case, the demilitarization of the archipelago – Ehn maintains – would not prevent an eventual sending of Finnish and even NATO troops to defend Åland under certain circumstances, for example in the event of a hypothetical Russian attack.

“In Åland people know that there are systems to tackle the defense, so they are safe and satisfied with this solution.

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And especially considering that Finland and Sweden are now members of NATO, we feel even safer,” he stressed.

Some Finnish politicians have criticized the maintenance of Åland’s status at a time of serious tensions with neighboring Russia, but neither the Finnish State, nor Sweden nor NATO have shown – at least for the time being – any willingness to change it.

When Finland decided to break with eight decades of military neutrality and apply for entry into the Alliance, the former Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, commissioned a report to the Foreign Ministry on the issue of Åland.

This report, published last year, concludes that the current status is beneficial for Finland and that Helsinki must respect international treaties, so at the moment there is no possibility of abolishing the demilitarization of the archipelago.

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