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Finnish parliament backs lifting ban on N-weapons

2026-06-18
HELSINKI: Finland`s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a total ban on nuclear weapons there, to bring the country in line with Nato`s deterrence policy after joining the alliance in 2023.

The bill, will permit nuclear weapons to be brought, transported, supplied, or possessed in Finland where`s Finland`s military defence requires it. While 125 deputies backed the government proposal, 61 voted against it, with another 13 absent from the chamber. Now that it has been approved by parliament it only requires the approval of the president.

The decision repealsthe national ban on the import, production, possession, and detonation of nuclear explosives from the country`s Nuclear Energy Act dating back to the 1980s. It amends the criminal code to include the exceptions to a prohibition on nuclear weapons.

`With this proposal, we strengthen Finland`s defence and enable the full use of Nato`s nuclear deterrent as protection for Finland,` Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen posted on X on Tuesday, a day before the vote. The Nordic country dropped decades of military nonalliance to join Nato in April 2023.-AFP