(Helsinki) Voting in advance to enter as quickly as possible: Finland began its final debate in Parliament on Tuesday on joining NATO, without waiting for the last imperative yes votes from Turkey and Hungary.
With elections in sight on April 2 for the government of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Helsinki wants to avoid any political vacuum in order to be able to jump on the NATO bandwagon, once the agreement of Ankara and Budapest has been obtained.
Including, if necessary, without waiting for neighboring Sweden, also a candidate since last year but currently facing a Turkish veto.
Finland’s 200-member parliament, the Eduskunta, began debating the NATO membership bill on Tuesday, with a vote on Wednesday expected around 7 a.m. EST.
The parliamentary session coincides with the visit to Finland by the NATO Secretary General for meetings with the main leaders of the Nordic country of 5.5 million inhabitants.
For Jens Stoltenberg, “the time has come” for Ankara and Budapest to ratify, he reaffirmed. “Both Finland and Sweden have accomplished what they promised” to Turkey, said the NATO chief.
As in a preliminary vote last May, which resulted in a plebiscite of 188 votes out of 200, the outcome of the parliamentary ballot is in no doubt, with almost unanimous support from the parties, including those who were still against NATO a year ago.
Only a handful of far-left and far-right MPs are expected to vote against, citing in particular the lack of assurances that no nuclear weapons would be placed on Finnish territory.
“This decision and this law do not change Finland’s position on nuclear weapons,” replied Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden decided to turn the page on their policy of military non-alignment in force since the 1990s, itself inherited from decades of forced or chosen neutrality, by applying to NATO in May 2022.
Twenty-eight of the 30 members of the alliance, including the United States, have already ratified the entry of the two Nordic countries.
There remain Hungary, known for its more ambiguous positions vis-à-vis Moscow, and Turkey, which wants to mediate the conflict in Ukraine and settle old disputes with Sweden, mainly on the case of Kurdish militants living in the country. Nordic.
Finland had 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, have changed the situation.
Even Mr. Stoltenberg acknowledged at the beginning of February that the most important thing was not that the countries enter NATO together, but that their membership takes place as quickly as possible.
Finland and Sweden separate
Turkey confirmed on Monday that it could separate Finland’s ratification from that of Sweden.
As for Hungary, it has never so far mentioned any counterparts to its ratification, but this one, expected in March, is still shrouded in uncertainty.
The adoption of the Finnish law does not mean that Helsinki will automatically enter after the Hungarian and Turkish ratifications.
But it sets a clear timetable: after adoption, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö has a maximum of three months to sign it in turn.
The latter has already said that he would do so “upon adoption”. “If there are practical reasons, I can wait […] but not beyond the April 2 elections”.
Then, in accordance with NATO practice, the instruments of accession must be sent to Washington “within a few weeks at most”, explained Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Pöysti.
A majority of Finns (53%) want to join NATO without waiting for Sweden, according to a poll published in early February.
Finland was Swedish until 1809, before becoming a Russian Grand Duchy until its independence in 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, shares the longest European border (1340 km) with Russia, behind Ukraine.
Large fences will be installed on portions of the 1340 kilometer line, as a result of tensions with Russia.
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.