Wednesday, June 17th saw the Finnish parliament drop its longstanding position of opposition to nuclear weapons.
In the Suomen Eduskunta, 125 deputies backed the government proposal, while 61 voted against it. (Another 13 were absent from the unicameral chamber.) This brings Finland into line with the commitments to nuclear weapons embedded in its NATO membership, an alliance it joined in 2023.
The bill aims to repeal the national ban on the import, production, possession, and detonation of nuclear explosives. Both the country’s 1980s Nuclear Energy Act and its criminal code would be amended.
Subject to the approval of the president, the vote could pave the way for French nuclear arms—those of the sole European Union nuclear power—to be stationed in the Nordic country. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo declared a Finnish interest in a French-led nuclear deterrence scheme. The day before the vote, his defence minister Antti Häkkänen posted on X:
With this proposal, we strengthen Finland’s defence and enable the full use of NATO’s nuclear deterrent as protection for Finland.
If signed into law, the bill will permit nuclear weapons to be brought, transported, supplied, or possessed in Finland where and whenever required for Finland’s military defence.
