Finnish parliament overwhelmingly gives early greenlight to NATO entry

The Finland parliament on Wednesday (March 1) overwhelmingly gave a green light and acceleration to the bid of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The move by parliament has increased the prospects that Finland will leave its neighbour Sweden behind and become a member of the pact earlier.

The legislation was approved as lawmakers affirmed that the nation has accepted the terms of the NATO Treaty by 184 votes against seven in the 200-seat parliament. One abstained.

Finnish lawmakers have pushed for the legislation to be passed before the general elections on April 2 to avoid a political vacuum. Notably, the process of joining NATO requires ratification from all of its 30 members.

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Passing the bill does not mean that Finland will automatically join NATO after ratification by Turkey and Hungary, but it puts in place a deadline for how long it can wait for its neighbour.

As quoted by the news agency AFP, Tuomas Poysti, the government's chancellor of justice, said that after the bill is approved by the parliament and the president can wait a maximum of three months to sign it.

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The development came hours after news agencies reported that Finland has started construction work on a pilot of the eastern border barrier fence it plans to build along parts of the country's border with Russia.

It is believed that the construction of the fence of approximately three kilometres started on both sides of the Imatra border crossing point with work on the terrain. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of June.

(With inputs from agencies)

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