Finland’s parliament votes sure to NATO

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

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

Of the 200 lawmakers, 188 voted in favour and eight against the applying, Speaker Matti Vanhanen mentioned.

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Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto stated the decision was no cause to have fun because "there is battle in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO is not going to change our primary pondering that we will always search peaceable options and we are a peace-loving nation that can first and foremost seek diplomatic solutions to every battle," he stated through the debate.

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

"Our border would turn out to be the border between the navy alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a threat only through the software process but reasonably a new and everlasting condition of our overseas and security policy," he mentioned.

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

"Having heard a very massive variety of consultants and having acquired the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the international affairs committee agrees with the federal government that Finland ought to apply for membership in NATO. This decision is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho advised reporters.

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

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