Finland’s parliament approves NATO membership

Finland’s parliament has overwhelmingly backed the country’s bid to join NATO, the parliament speaker said.
The law on joining NATO was supported by 184 deputies out of 200, seven voted against, one abstained.
The admission of new members must be approved by all current members of the Western military alliance. Finland’s candidacy has not yet been supported by Turkey and Hungary.
By accepting the founding documents of NATO, Finland could gain an advantage over neighboring Sweden, which also wants to join the alliance, but whose application is also delayed by Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country is ready to accept Finland’s membership in NATO. At the same time, Ankara accuses Sweden of harboring people it considers to be members of terrorist organizations.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that he expected the two Scandinavian countries to become members of the alliance by the July summit.