Finland’s parliament votes yes to NATO

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

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

Of the 200 lawmakers, 188 voted in favour and eight in opposition to the applying, Speaker Matti Vanhanen stated.

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Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the decision was no cause to rejoice because "there is struggle in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO won't change our fundamental pondering that we'll at all times seek peaceful options and we are a peace-loving nation that will in the beginning seek diplomatic options to every conflict," he said throughout 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 resulting in it being put to the vote.

"Our border would develop into the border between the army alliance and Russia. New tensions wouldn't be a threat only in the course of the software process but moderately a brand new and everlasting situation of our international and security policy," he said.

Early on Tuesday, the international affairs committee determined to join the state management in proposing to parliament that the Nordic nation ought to apply for membership.

"Having heard a very large number of experts and having obtained the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the overseas affairs committee agrees with the government that Finland should apply for membership in NATO. This resolution is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho advised reporters.

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

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