By an overwhelming majority, the Finnish Parliament approved Wednesday in advance the historic entry of the Nordic country into NATO, for which ratifications by Hungary and Turkey are still essential.
Finnish MPs voted to approve a law allowing Finland to join the Western military alliance, by 184 votes in favor and 7 against.
As a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s accession to the NATO umbrella will put an end to half a century of neutrality imposed by Moscow and then three decades of military non-alignment since the end of the Cold War.
The Finnish Minister of Defense hailed “an important step on the way to NATO”. “Homeland security is a common cause,” Antti Kaikkonen tweeted.
With elections in sight on April 2 for the government of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Helsinki wanted to avoid any political vacuum, in order to be able to jump on the NATO train once the agreement of Ankara and Budapest was obtained.
Including, if necessary, without waiting for neighboring Sweden, also a candidate since last year but currently facing a Turkish blockage.
As in a preliminary vote last May, which resulted in a plebiscite of 188 votes out of 200, the outcome of the vote in the Finnish Parliament was in no doubt.
The support of the parties was almost unanimous, including from those who were still unfavorable to NATO before the invasion of Ukraine.
Only a handful of far-left and far-right MPs voted against, citing in particular the lack of assurances that no nuclear weapons would be placed on Finnish territory.
The adoption of the Finnish law does not mean that Helsinki will automatically enter after the Hungarian and Turkish ratifications.
But it can then go very quickly, after a ratification by President Sauli Niinistö, who is in favor of it, and the sending of the ratification documents, which under the terms of the founding treaty of NATO, are kept in Washington.
After being suspended by Turkey, negotiations between the three countries on NATO entry are due to resume on March 9 in Brussels.
Finland has so far shown its willingness to join at the same time as Sweden. But Stockholm’s major difficulties with Ankara, which culminated in January with a series of diplomatic incidents, are a game-changer.
Turkey, shaken by a catastrophic earthquake and preparing crucial elections for President Erdogan on May 14, confirmed on Monday that it could separate Finland’s ratification from Sweden’s.
As for Hungary, it has never mentioned any counterparts to its ratification, but this one, expected in March, is still shrouded in uncertainty, Budapest distinguishing itself by its ambiguous positions vis-à-vis Moscow. .
On Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó reaffirmed the executive’s support in principle, but said approval by majority MPs was “much less clear”.
Finland and Sweden had applied for NATO on the same day last May, but the processes remain formally separate.
According to a poll published in early February, a majority of Finns (53%) want to join NATO without waiting for Sweden.
Finland was Swedish until 1809, before becoming a Russian Grand Duchy until its independence gained during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
The Nordic country, subject to forced neutrality by Moscow after its war with the Soviet Union during the Second World War, has the longest European border (1,340 km) with Russia, behind Ukraine.
Large fences will be installed on portions of the 1,340 kilometer line, as a result of tensions with Moscow.
The construction site, which should last more than three years and cost 380 million euros, began on Tuesday and should last until 2026, announced the border guards.
01/03/2023 22:09:03 – Helsinki (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
