Status: 03/01/2023 3:03 p.m
In Finland, the parliament voted by a large majority to join NATO. Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the inclusion. The debate in Budapest is already underway – approval is considered certain.
The way from Finland to NATO is clear, at least from the Finnish side. Parliament in Helsinki voted by a large majority in favor of a government proposal on legislation needed for the country’s entry into the Western Defense Alliance. 184 MPs voted in favor of the motion, only seven against.
Finland shares a 1340 km border with Russia. In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the northernmost country in the EU, like neighboring Sweden, applied for NATO membership in May 2022. All 30 NATO members must ratify the two countries’ admission, and all but Turkey and Hungary have already done so.
Hungary’s parliament discusses NATO membership
The Hungarian Parliament today began debating the two countries’ NATO membership. The Hungarian State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Sztaray, spoke on behalf of the right-wing government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in favor of ratifying the accession protocols. The approval is considered secured. The left and liberal opposition also wants to vote for it.
Orban, who maintains good relations with Russia, has repeatedly spoken out in favor of accepting the accession protocols. At the same time, he complained that Sweden in particular would repeatedly insult his country for no reason. He didn’t go into details. Sweden currently holds the EU Presidency. Apparently, Orban was referring to Stockholm’s criticism of democratic deficits and the state of the rule of law in Hungary.
Turkey encourages separate admission process
Hungarian approval is expected in the coming week. Things are more difficult with Turkey, which has long blocked NATO’s northern expansion. She justifies this attitude primarily with the fact that Sweden does not take sufficient action against terrorist organizations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this week that Turkey viewed Finland’s application positively. “We could separate Sweden’s and Finland’s admission process,” he said. Most recently, however, Finland and Sweden had confirmed that they wanted to go the way to NATO together.
Parliament sets deadline for Sweden
Parliament’s decision in Helsinki does not mean that Finland will automatically become a NATO member after ratification by Turkey and Hungary. However, it sets a deadline for how long Finland can wait for its neighbor Sweden.
After the parliamentary decision, President Sauli Niinistö has a maximum of three months until the signing. Niinistö had announced that he would sign the law “as soon as it was approved by Parliament”. For “practical reasons” he could wait, “but not until after the elections”. Parliamentary elections will take place in Finland on April 2nd.