Finland’s parliament votes sure to NATO

HELSINKI, Might 17 (Reuters) - Finland's parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a proposal to use for membership of the NATO army alliance in a historic policy shift prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

President Sauli Niinisto and the federal government determined officially on Sunday that Finland would apply for membership however the determination was pending parliament's approval.

Of the 200 lawmakers, 188 voted in favour and eight in opposition to the applying, Speaker Matti Vanhanen said.

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Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the decision was no motive to have fun as a result of "there may be war in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO will not change our basic considering that we'll all the time seek peaceful options and we're a peace-loving nation that may before everything search diplomatic options to each conflict," he stated through the debate.

Opponents to the application included some lawmakers from the Left Alliance, a part of Finland's five-party coalition, amongst them Markus Mustajarvi who challenged the decision with a counter proposal resulting in it being put to the vote.

"Our border would turn out to be the border between the military alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a risk solely in the course of the software course of however relatively a brand new and everlasting condition of our overseas and security policy," he mentioned.

Early on Tuesday, the international affairs committee decided to hitch the state leadership in proposing to parliament that the Nordic country should apply for membership.

"Having heard a really massive number of experts and having acquired the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the overseas affairs committee agrees with the federal government that Finland ought to apply for membership in NATO. This choice is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho instructed reporters.

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Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Modifying by Robert Birsel and Alison Williams

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