NATO treaty wouldn´t be problem for Finland’s sovereignty: WG

The North Atlantic Treaty would not be a problem for Finland’s sovereignty, according to the draft government proposal on Finland’s accession to NATO published on Thursday, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a press release.

The draft proposal prepared by a working group was sent out for comments where the working group concluded that the Parliament could make the decision to adopt the North Atlantic Treaty by a simple majority vote.

The group also observed that participation in international cooperation and that Finland’s accession to the Treaty would not constitute a significant transfer of competence to an international organisation.

In the draft government proposal, the working group assesses the relationship between the North Atlantic Treaty and Finland’s Constitution.

The draft government proposal was prepared on the adoption of the North Atlantic Treaty and of the Agreement on the status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Representatives and International Staff.

The working group is of the opinion that Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty would not affect the decision-making procedure concerning Finland’s foreign and security policy, the obligation to participate in national defence or the position of the President of the Republic as the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces.

Current legislation allows Finland to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty and to the Agreement on the status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Representatives and International Staff, and the resulting obligations do not require any immediate amendments to national legislation, the proposal said.

Any subsequent legislative measures related to Finland’s NATO membership may be implemented by separate statutes.

The working group assessed the key effects of Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty especially from the perspectives of foreign policy, security policy and defence policy. In addition, the working group identified economic effects and human resources effects of membership. The details of these effects will be specified once Finland becomes a member of NATO.

As a member of NATO, Finland must accede to other NATO agreements within 12 months of the deposit of Finland’s instrument of accession. These agreements concern the status of troops, security of information, and protection of information in the defence sector.

Separate government proposals on Finland’s accession to these agreements will be later submitted for Parliament’s approval.

The working group consists of representatives from the Office of the President, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom).

However, NATO membership will increase Finland's public spending on defense, reported Xinhua, quoting in an article published by national broadcaster Yle on the same day.

NATO countries pay contributions for their membership in proportion, which are calculated in relation to the size of their economies. According to Yle, Finland's share of NATO co-financing would be 0.9057 percent.

Finland's contributions would be 27.4 million euros a year if the country became a member of NATO at the beginning of next year.

This figure will probably rise in the future, Yle said. NATO's member states decided at a summit in Madrid this summer to raise jointly financed budgets, it added.

Additional costs would come with the personnel increases and administrative changes related to NATO membership. These costs have been calculated at more than 100 million euros annually.

The NATO member countries signed the Accession Protocols of Finland and Sweden in the North Atlantic Council on 5 July 2022.

Once all NATO member countries have ratified the two Accession Protocols, Finland and Sweden will join NATO.