The Finnish parliament ratifies the country’s NATO membership on 28 February. This was announced on February 17 by the head of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Jussi Halla-aho.
“According to the preliminary plan, the report will be presented at the plenary session of Parliament next week, and the vote on it will take place on February 28,” he said at a briefing.
Voting will take place three days before the Finnish parliament goes on vacation in connection with the elections scheduled for April 2.
Earlier, on February 15, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for Finland and Sweden to become members of the alliance by autumn 2023. According to him, both countries have fulfilled all the conditions of the Turkish side.
Prior to that, on February 13, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock expressed hope that all NATO member countries would ratify the protocol on Finland and Sweden joining the alliance in the near future. The minister added that “Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO will contribute to strengthening security in the Baltic Sea region and beyond.”
At the same time, on February 1, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out Sweden’s membership in NATO. The reason was the desecration of the Koran, which was carried out in Sweden by a Danish politician with the approval of the authorities. At the same time, the Turkish leader positively assessed Finland’s chances of joining the alliance, but noted that Helsinki must take an “adequate position” in order to count on Ankara’s support in this matter.
On June 28, 2022, at the summit in Madrid, Turkey supported the entry of the two countries into the alliance by signing a corresponding memorandum. The agreement was a confirmation of Ankara’s promise to support NATO expansion through Helsinki and Stockholm.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO on May 18, 2022. In June, at the Madrid summit, Turkey presented 10 conditions for lifting the veto on NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. One of the points was an offer to support Ankara in its fight against recognized terrorist organizations, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
