Finland’s parliament votes yes to NATO

HELSINKI, Could 17 (Reuters) - Finland's parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly accredited 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 government decided officially on Sunday that Finland would apply for membership but 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 stated.

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Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto mentioned the choice was no motive to have fun because "there is struggle in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO won't change our primary thinking that we are going to all the time seek peaceful solutions and we're a peace-loving nation that will in the beginning search diplomatic options to every battle," he mentioned during the debate.

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

"Our border would change into the border between the military alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a threat solely in the course of the application course of but rather a new and everlasting condition of our international and safety policy," he said.

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

"Having heard a really large number of consultants and having obtained the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the international affairs committee agrees with the government that Finland ought to apply for membership in NATO. This resolution 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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