Finland to hold NATO vote ahead of ratifications

Finland to hold NATO vote ahead of ratifications
by AFP Staff Writers
Helsinki (AFP) Feb 17, 2023

Finland's parliament is expected this month to give final approval to the country's bid to join NATO, without waiting for undecided NATO members to accept its membership bid, parliament said on Friday.

Helsinki wants to get domestic approval for joining NATO clinched before the general election campaign starts in March, when parliament will be suspended.

The bill has sufficient support to pass easily.

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members still to ratify the requests to join from Finland and neighbouring Sweden, which must be accepted by all 30 existing members of the military organisation.

If the Finnish parliament gives its approval this month, the country could still become a fully-fledged NATO member quickly -- even if the Turkish and Hungarian green lights were to come during the election period when the assembly is closed.

It would also enable Finland to join without waiting for Sweden, whose bid is being stalled by Turkey.

Hungary has signalled it expects this month to approve membership for both Nordic countries.

The Finnish parliament is expected to vote on NATO membership on February 28, Jussi Halla-aho, the head of the assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, told a press conference on Friday.

"It is good that this process is done in advance," Prime Minister Sanna Marin explained in an interview with public broadcaster Yle on Sunday.

"Once the ratifications in all (NATO) countries are done, it won't take more than a few hours before we join NATO," she said.

Finland and Sweden dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO in May last year in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

While the government in Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has so far stressed its preference to join the alliance together with Sweden, Turkey has signalled it is not yet ready to accept the latter.

Jussi Saramo, head of the Left Alliance party, said it would have been better for Finland to wait and coordinate with Sweden.

"But in these matters, it is also appreciable that unanimity can be found in parliament," he added.

Asked what Finland would do if Turkey agreed to let Finland into NATO without Sweden, President Sauli Niinisto said: "We do not want to, and cannot, withdraw our application."

Speaking to reporters in Germany ahead of the Munich Security Conference, he added: "We still have an understanding with Sweden -- (join NATO) as soon as possible."

But "Turkey's stance is solely and exclusively in its own hands", he added.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg raised the possibility of Finland joining NATO without Sweden for the first time on Tuesday, saying ratifying the two at the same time was not the "main question".

Sweden's government said on Wednesday it planned to submit a bill in March asking the parliament in Stockholm to approving the country's NATO membership.