HELSINKI (dpa-AFX) – In Finland, there are increasing signs that the country could make a decision on possible NATO membership in the coming months in the course of the Ukraine war. On Saturday, the traditionally skeptical Center Party – a coalition partner of Prime Minister Sanna Marin – opened up about possible membership in the defense alliance. The representatives of the party, which had always campaigned for the Nordic country’s freedom of alliance, gave their leadership powers to approve a possible NATO application, as reported by the Finnish radio station Yle.
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has reignited the more frequent debate about Finland’s possible NATO membership. According to surveys, a majority of Finns are now in favor of such a step. Prime Minister Marin has not yet taken a clear position on the issue, but has now made it clear that a decision should not be long in coming: Since the security situation could continue to deteriorate, a decision must be made this spring, she said on Saturday in Yle morning television. According to you, your government wants to present a security policy report before Easter.
Marin hopes that Finland and Sweden will find similar solutions to the NATO issue in roughly the same time frame. The two neighboring countries are currently not members but close partners of the alliance. In Sweden, too, the Ukraine war triggered a debate about joining NATO, although the Finns seem to be making faster progress than their Swedish neighbors.
But something is also happening in Sweden: Jimmie Åkesson, head of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, wants to call on his party to change its stance in the event of a Finnish NATO application and to be in favor of Swedish membership of NATO. He said so in an interview with the newspaper “Svenska Dagbladet” published on Saturday. “What has changed now is that Finland is clearly moving towards NATO membership and there are many signs that this could happen in the near future,” he said. Should the right-wing populists change course, there would be a parliamentary majority for NATO membership./trs/DP/stk