Finland’s parliament votes yes to NATO

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

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

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

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Overseas Minister Pekka Haavisto stated the choice was no cause to celebrate because "there is warfare in Europe".

"Finland's membership in NATO won't change our basic pondering that we will always search peaceful options and we are a peace-loving nation that may firstly seek diplomatic options to every conflict," he stated through the debate.

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

"Our border would turn into the border between the army alliance and Russia. New tensions wouldn't be a threat only during the software course of however fairly a new and everlasting condition of our overseas and safety policy," he said.

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

"Having heard a really large variety of experts and having obtained the opinions of 10 (parliamentary) committees, the foreign affairs committee agrees with the federal government that Finland ought to apply for membership in NATO. This choice is unanimous," chairman Jussi Halla-aho informed reporters.

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

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