Finland’s parliament votes sure to NATO

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

President Sauli Niinisto and the government determined officially on Sunday that Finland would apply for membership but the determination was pending parliament's approval.

Of the 200 lawmakers, 188 voted in favour and eight against the application, Speaker Matti Vanhanen said.

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Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto stated the decision was no reason to have fun as a result of "there's warfare in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO won't change our basic pondering that we are going to always seek peaceable solutions and we're a peace-loving nation that can before everything search diplomatic solutions to every battle," he stated in the course of the debate.

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

"Our border would turn into the border between the military alliance and Russia. New tensions would not be a danger only in the course of the application course of however reasonably a brand new and everlasting condition of our international and security coverage," he stated.

Early on Tuesday, the overseas affairs committee decided to affix the state management in proposing to parliament that the Nordic nation should apply for membership.

"Having heard a really giant number of experts and having obtained the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the international affairs committee agrees with the federal government that Finland should apply for membership in NATO. This choice is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho instructed reporters.

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

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