HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland’s parliament on Tuesday approved the country’s proposed NATO membership bid, a historic political turning point for the non-aligned state in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The proposal was adopted by 188 votes in favor and eight against, said Parliament Speaker Matti Vanhanen.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply to join the alliance, but the decision was subject to parliamentary approval.
For the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, this decision is however not a reason to rejoice because “there is war in Europe”.
“Finland’s membership in NATO will not change our basic thinking, which is that we will always seek peaceful solutions and that we are a peace-loving nation that will first and foremost seek diplomatic solutions to every conflict,” he said. he said during the debate.
Among those opposed to membership were MPs from the Left Alliance, which is part of Finland’s five-party coalition, including Markus Mustajarvi, who challenged the decision with a counter-proposal, which allowed to put it to the vote.
“Our border would become the border between the military alliance and Russia. Further tensions would not be a risk only during the bid process, but rather a new and permanent condition of our foreign and security policy,” he said. he warned.
The Foreign Affairs Committee had previously rallied to the executive’s request for membership.
“After having heard a very large number of experts and received the opinion of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the Foreign Affairs Committee agrees with the government that Finland should apply for NATO membership. This decision is unanimous,” True Finns party chairman Jussi Halla-aho told reporters.
(Report Anne Kauranen, French version Diana Mandiá)