Finland sets seal on Nato entry to revive stalled bid

BLOOMBERG

Finland’s parliament ratified Nato’s treaties as the Nordic nation prepares to join the defense alliance, seeking to put momentum back in the bloc’s enlargement.
Nine months after Finland submitted its application for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) simultaneously with neighbouring Sweden, lawmakers in Helsinki on Wednesday signed off on the paperwork, voting 184 in favour of ratification and seven against.
The move makes it possible for remaining holdouts Turkey and Hungary to determine whether to allow the Nordic countries to enter the alliance together.
While 28 of Nato’s 30 members have ratified the enlargement, Turkey initially objected to the accession of both nations, but has since focused most of its resistance on Sweden. Hungary has also finally openly acknowledged it has stalled Nato’s enlargement due to their criticism of rule-of-law issues and backing of the European Union suspension of more than $30 billion in funding.
Part of the reason why Finland’s lawmakers held their vote now was to complete the domestic procedure before the parliament goes on recess ahead of the April 2 general election. A souring of relations between Sweden and Turkey following offensive demonstrations in Stockholm in January — involving a puppet and a burnt Koran — gave the Finns pause to consider how Finland could best protect its own prospect of joining Nato should its neighbor face a permanent obstacle.
“The reason why we have applied for Nato membership is very simple — the Nato line is the only line Russia wouldn’t cross,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters on Tuesday, underscoring how vital entry into Nato remains.
“I would have hoped to become members of Nato already, as Finland and Sweden fulfill all the criteria, and we are yet waiting,” Marin said. “Of course this strains the open door policy of Nato as well.”
There’s since been some thawing of relations with Turkey, after Sweden has prevented two planned Koran burnings and unveiled a bill that tightens anti-terrorist legislation. Talks to break the impasse are set to be held March 9 in Brussels.
A number of Nato countries have pushed for the enlargement to be completed before the alliance’s mid-July Vilnius summit, and  Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday said that “the time has come to finalise the ratification process” both in Budapest and in Ankara.
Finland’s bill still requires the signature of President Sauli Niinisto, largely seen as a formality.