Finland’s parliament votes yes to NATO

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

President Sauli Niinisto and the federal government decided formally on Sunday that Finland would apply for membership but the decision was pending parliament's approval.

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

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International Minister Pekka Haavisto mentioned the decision was no motive to have fun as a result of "there is warfare in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO is not going to change our fundamental pondering that we will always seek peaceable options and we are a peace-loving nation that will firstly search diplomatic options to every conflict," he said in the course of the debate.

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

"Our border would become the border between the army alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a risk only through the software process however relatively a new and permanent situation of our foreign and security policy," he mentioned.

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

"Having heard a very large number of specialists and having received the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the overseas affairs committee agrees with the federal government that Finland should apply for membership in NATO. This decision is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho told reporters.

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

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