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Finland's parliament backs NATO accession by 184–7
Summary
A look back at the 1 March 2023 vote in Helsinki, and at the approvals still outstanding in two allied capitals.
What did Finland's parliament decide on 1 March 2023? It voted 184–7 to formally approve the country's accession to NATO and to adopt the alliance's founding documents.
The margin was lopsided. Only seven members opposed the step, so the chamber's position on membership was not in doubt.
The vote did not complete Finland's path into the alliance. Hungary and Turkey had yet to approve its membership, so two allied capitals still stood between Helsinki and full accession.
The diplomatic backdrop
The vote came days after China unveiled, on 24 February 2023, a 12-point position paper on ending the war in Ukraine, ahead of an expected speech by President Xi Jinping on the conflict. Ukraine said it hoped China could urge Russia to withdraw its troops in response to the paper.
The two developments were separate. Together they show a week in which diplomacy over the war and the alliance's enlargement moved on parallel tracks. For Finland, the parliamentary decision settled the domestic question; the remaining approvals lay abroad.
