Demokraatti: Finnish politicians are confident that Finland will become a NATO member by JulyFinnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin supports the proposals of her Estonian counterpart, the implementation of which will accelerate military supplies to Ukraine, Demokraatti reports.
She also stands in solidarity with the initiatives of the Prime Minister of Estonia aimed at increasing the production of weapons in Europe.
The chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Jussi Halla-aho, said on February 10 that the committee has a common opinion on how to develop laws related to joining NATO.
Many parties supported the idea of drafting laws related to joining NATO even before the parliamentary elections (to be held on April 2 this year, ed.).
"When Finland's membership is ratified by all NATO countries, we will be able to fully join the alliance in a few hours. It's good that (in Finland) this can be done in advance," Marin said in an interview with Yle.
Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have not yet agreed to Finland and Sweden's membership in the alliance. According to Marin, the process of its ratification depends directly on Turkey and Hungary.
"We have stated that we want these issues to be resolved at the same time, and for Finland and Sweden to join NATO at the same time."
According to Marin, from the standpoint of NATO's defense planning, it would be problematic if Finland became a member of the alliance alone, and Sweden would have to wait for inclusion in it.
President Sauli Niinisto and Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto recently stated that, in their opinion, Finland and Sweden could become NATO members by the time of the alliance summit in Vilnius in July.
Marin did not comment on what the optimism about the timetable for Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO is based on. In her opinion, it will be possible to breathe a sigh of relief only when the missing ratification processes are completed and both countries become members of NATO.
"I will breathe a sigh of relief only when this process is completed," Marin said.
Marin agrees with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas that the EU countries could purchase together funds for the defense of Ukraine.
At the EU summit in Brussels, Kaya Kallas proposed using the same model for providing military assistance to Ukraine as for purchasing coronavirus vaccines.
EU countries could raise a certain amount, and the commission could purchase the necessary materials. After that, the weapons could be sent directly to Ukraine. According to Kallas, this would accelerate the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
Kallas also said that EU countries should increase the production of weapons.
Marin supports the strengthening of defense production in Europe.
According to her, European defense production needs to be made more efficient because of what is happening in Ukraine, and also because Europe needs to strengthen its own defense.
"We need to discuss these joint decisions. I personally support the position of the Prime Minister of Estonia," Marin said in an interview with Yle.
