Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto announced Saturday that the draft law on Finland’s accession to NATO will be ready in December despite the reluctance expressed by Turkey and Hungary, member states of the Atlantic Alliance that have not ratified the country’s accession or that of Sweden.
«The government is ready to present a bill on Finland’s accession to NATO in December,» he explained about a «law that can be ready even before Turkey and Hungary ratify Finland’s accession to NATO,» reports the Finnish daily ‘Hufvudstadsbladet’.
In his speech to the council of the Green party, to which he belongs, Haavisto pointed out that NATO membership will not change the fundamentals of Finland’s foreign policy.
«Although many things change with Finland’s entry into NATO, not everything changes. Finland’s foreign policy is still based on human rights, we continue to emphasize the importance of a rules-based international system and compliance with international law,» he has assured.
On November 24, the Office of the President of Finland called for speeding up work on a law approving the country’s accession to NATO, despite the fact that Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified the protocol on Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to the alliance.
«The Presidency of the Republic considers it appropriate that the Government’s proposal for the approval of the North Atlantic Treaty be submitted to the Parliament, regardless of the referred missing ratifications, so that there is the will to approve the agreements as soon as the conditions are met,» the head of state, Sauli Niinisto, said in a statement.
The president was referring to comments made this week by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who confirmed that Hungary will not complete the ratification process for both countries to join NATO until early 2023, despite the assumption that it would be this year.
Orbán stressed that Hungary supports the enlargement of the Atlantic Alliance and advanced that the parliamentary vote will take place in the first session of 2023. «The two (Nordic) countries have not lost a single minute for Hungary,» he said, according to statements released by his government.
Sweden and Finland are also awaiting the approval of Turkey, the country that has been most reluctant to join NATO because of the presence in these countries of individuals whom Ankara links to «Kurdish terrorist organizations». Enlargement of the bloc requires the endorsement of all 30 member states, so all allies must do their part.
