WEB DESK

The Finnish parliament yesterday approved legislation allowing the country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 184 members of parliament voted in favour, with seven against and one abstention. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will sign the legislation as soon as possible, he said.

In May 2022, the Finnish parliament accepted an application to join NATO with a majority of 188 to eight. So far, 28 NATO member countries have ratified Finnish membership, with Türkiye and Hungary still pending. The Finnish parliament wanted to finalize the domestic vote before the upcoming parliamentary elections.