Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Finland takes step towards joining NATO without waiting for Sweden

Finland takes step towards joining NATO without waiting for Sweden

The parliament in Helsinki is to debate and vote on joining the alliance without waiting for Sweden, or the approval of Turkey and Hungary.

Finland begins its final debate in parliament on Tuesday on NATO membership, without waiting for the approval of Turkey and Hungary.

Nor is Helsinki waiting for neighbouring Sweden, which has also been a candidate since last year but is currently facing a Turkish veto.

The government of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin wants to avoid any potential political vacuum, with elections due on April 2.

"We would have hoped to become members of Nato already. Finland and Sweden fulfil all the criteria, as has been mentioned, and we are yet waiting. And of course, this strains the open-door policy of NATO; it's also to do with Nato's credibility," Marin said.

The 200 members of the Finnish parliament, the Eduskunta, are due to begin debating the NATO accession bill on Tuesday, with a vote expected by Wednesday.

The outcome is not in doubt: in a preliminary vote last May there was near-unanimous support, including from parties which had previously been opposed to joining the military alliance. Only a handful of far-left and far-right MPs are expected to vote against it.

The debate coincides with a visit to Finland by NATO's secretary general for meetings with key political leaders.

"The time has come" for Ankara and Budapest to ratify the two Nordic countries' membership bids, Jens Stoltenberg said. "Both Finland and Sweden have accomplished what they promised" to Turkey, he added.

Finland and Sweden decided to turn the page on their decades-long policy of military non-alignment after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, applying for NATO membership in May 2022.

Twenty-eight of the alliance's 30 members, including the United States, have already ratified the entry of the two Nordic countries.

The Hungarian government, known for its more ambiguous position regarding Moscow, has signalled its approval in principle.

But after a meeting between the Hungarian and Swedish foreign ministers, a government spokesman in Budapest cited "MPs' concerns about the ratification of NATO accession and unfounded lies about the state of democracy in Hungary".


Turkey's opposition to Swedish membership of NATO has centred on Kurdish militants living in the Nordic country. Stockholm's difficulties with Ankara, which culminated in a series of diplomatic incidents in January, have pushed Finland to revise its original desire to join simultaneously with Sweden.

Jens Stoltenberg has acknowledged that the most important thing was not for the countries to join NATO together, but for them to join as soon as possible.

Turkey confirmed on Monday that it could separate Finland's ratification from that of Sweden.

Hungary has so far not mentioned any obstacles to approving the bid, but it remains uncertain.

A majority of Finns (53%) want to join NATO without waiting for Sweden, according to a poll published in early February.

The country, forced into neutrality by Moscow after its war with the Soviet Union during the Second World War, shares the longest European border (1,340 km) with Russia, behind Ukraine.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×