Finland to decide on Nato membership in coming weeks

Copenhagen, Apr 13 (EFE).- Finland will make a final decision on whether to apply for Nato membership within weeks, prime minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

“I think our process is going to happen quite fast. We are talking weeks, not months,” Marin said in a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, in Stockholm.

The Finnish government is expected to submit a security report to the parliament on Wednesday to be debated by the political parties this spring.

Marin said she was aiming to build a consensus within the parliament before the transatlantic military alliance’s June summit in Madrid.

The prime minister stressed that any decision on Nato membership would have its advantages and disadvantages, but added that there were not any better security guarantees than those under the Nato’s article 5 on joint defense.

“Finland and Sweden will make their decision from their own perspectives, independently but in close dialogue,” said Marin, however, she added that it would be ideal for them both to take the same decision. Both countries are close Nato partners but not members.

Andersson, meanwhile, avoided talking about deadlines, saying that a security report, similar to the Finnish one, is expected to be ready by May 31.

On Monday, Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party, which so far has opposed membership, announced opening a debate on its position toward Nato and the new security situation in Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Local media reported on Wednesday that the Social Democrats have already decided to support Sweden’s Nato membership, something that Andersson rejected commenting on.

“We must analyze the situation to see what is best for the security of Sweden and the Swedish people, and we must not rush. It must be done very seriously and thoroughly,” she said. EFE

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