Turkish Parliament Ratifies Finland's Entry Into NATO

On Thursday, the Turkish parliament ratified Finland's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This happens shortly before the Finns elect their new legislature on Sunday April 2.

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In May 2022, Sweden and Finland, the only two non-aligned countries in the Baltic Sea region, decided to end their traditional military neutrality and called for urgent entry into the Alliance.

"The reason why we are applying for NATO membership is very simple: the NATO line is the only one that Russia would not dare to cross," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at the time. Subsequently, the application for membership in NATO was approved by the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta).

The ratification process for Finland has been the fastest in the history of the Alliance, since only ten months have passed since both Nordic nations requested their membership.

Shortly after receiving the approval of the Turkish Parliament for Finland's entry, Marin expressed her support for Sweden's accession to NATO through social networks.

"Finland will formally join our Alliance in the coming days. Their membership will make Finland safer and NATO stronger. I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as a full member of the NATO family as soon as possible," NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.

The Finnish legislature that ended this week formed a center-left government that significantly increased public spending to alleviate the effects of the pandemic.

This decision, however, was financed mainly through the issuance of public debt, which currently equals 73 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

A next government will have to make a budgetary adjustment of about 6,000 million euros and reduce the level of public debt without cooling the economy or dismantling the welfare state.