Last Update: February 17, 2023, 23:33 IST
Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto attends a news conference at the Parliament Buildings on January 24, 2023 in Helsinki, Finland. (Reuters)
Helsinki seeks domestic approval to join NATO before the start of the general election campaign in March, when parliament will be suspended
Finland’s parliament is expected to give final approval to the country’s bid to join NATO this month, without waiting for membership bids by undecided NATO members to be accepted, parliament said on Friday.
Helsinki wants to get domestic approval to join NATO before the start of the general election campaign in March, when parliament will be suspended.
There is enough support for the bill to be easily passed.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members to ratify requests to join from Finland and neighboring Sweden, which must be accepted by all 30 current members of the military organization.
If the Finnish parliament gives its approval this month, the country could still quickly become a full NATO member – even if the green lights from Turkey and Hungary have to come during an election period when the assembly is closed.
It would also enable Finland to join without waiting for Sweden, whose bid is being blocked by Turkey.
Hungary has indicated it hopes to ratify membership for the two Nordic countries this month.
Finland’s parliament is expected to vote on NATO membership on February 28, Jussi Halla-Aho, head of the assembly’s foreign affairs committee, told a news conference on Friday.
“It is good that this process is done in advance,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin explained in an interview with public broadcaster Yel on Sunday.
“Once all (NATO) countries have ratified, it will not take more than a few hours for us to join NATO,” he said.
Finland and Sweden abandoned decades of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO last May in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
While the government of Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has so far stressed its preference to join the alliance with Sweden, Turkey has indicated it has yet to accept Sweden’s. Not ready.
Jussi Saaramo, head of the Left Alliance party, said that it would have been better for Finland to wait and coordinate with Sweden.
“But in these matters, it is also commendable that unanimity can be found in Parliament,” he said.
When asked what Finland would do if Turkey agreed to let Finland join NATO without Sweden, President Sauli Niinisto said: “We do not want to withdraw our application and cannot withdraw.”
Speaking to reporters in Germany ahead of the Munich Security Conference, he said: “We still have an understanding with Sweden – (to join NATO) as soon as possible.”
But “Turkey’s stand is entirely and exclusively in its own hands”, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday raised the possibility of Finland joining Nato without Sweden for the first time, saying ratifying both at the same time was not a “main question”.
Sweden’s government said on Wednesday it planned to submit a bill to parliament in Stockholm in March to approve the country’s NATO membership.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)