Finnish President seals Finland's NATO bid by signing required laws

Category : International Published on: March 27 2023

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The Finnish president formally sealed the Nordic country's historic bid to join NATO by signing into law the required national legal amendments needed for membership in the Western military alliance.
The move by President Sauli Niinistö means Finland has completed national measures needed to join NATO, and is now just awaiting approval from Turkey and Hungary, the only two of NATO's 30 existing members that haven't ratified its bid.
On March 1, Finland’s 200-member Eduskunta legislature supported the country’s NATO request by an overwhelming majority of 184 to 7.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and neighbouring Sweden applied to join NATO ten months ago, abandoning decades of nonalignment.