The Finnish parliament approved this Wednesday with a large majority the accession of the Nordic country to NATO, which still requires ratifications by Hungary and Turkey.
Finnish deputies passed the law authorizing Finland’s entry into the Western Military Alliance by 184 votes to seven.
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance ends half a century of neutrality enforced by Moscow and three decades of military non-alignment.
With the elections on April 2, the government of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin wanted to avoid a possible political vacuum that would prevent accession to NATO, if necessary even without waiting for neighboring Sweden, which has also been a candidate to join the NATO. membership since last year, but which is currently facing a blockade by Turkey.
Unlike Sweden, Finland’s accession is viewed favorably by Ankara and internally the accession process was almost unanimous among Finnish parties, even those who view NATO with suspicion.
Only a few far-left and far-right MPs voted against, citing the lack of guarantees that no nuclear weapons would be placed on Finnish soil.
The adoption of the Finnish law does not mean that the country will automatically join after the ratifications of Hungary and Turkey (the only members that have not yet given the green light to the process).
After being suspended by Turkey over diplomatic incidents with Sweden, negotiations between the three countries over NATO membership should resume in Brussels on March 9.
Source: DN
