Helsinki – In the space of just one week, a proposed popular initiative inviting the government to apply for NATO membership on the basis of human rights protected by the Constitution reached the 50,000 signatures required for be sent to Parliament for debate. A previous initiative, calling for a referendum on the issue, also collected the necessary number of signatures, having been launched on Feb. 21, and currently has the support of over 76,000 people. The latest initiative justifies the need for NATO membership given the current situation in Europe, arguing that Finland has no security guarantees.

 In the current context, the signatories believe that NATO aims to prevent conflicts in the North Atlantic through cooperation to protect member states from attack. Ultimately, it is about guaranteeing the Finnish way of life through common defence and security guarantees. For these reasons, they are asking to apply for full membership in the alliance.

 Supporters of the initiative also add that the Parliament and the President of Finland should fulfil their constitutional obligations to safeguard fundamental human rights through international cooperation, by requesting membership of NATO.

 The initiative provides for a simple obligation of membership and not a real legislative initiative, like the previous initiative which asked Parliament to organize a referendum on the issue. These pressures and interventions show how the issue of NATO membership has returned to the country in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

 The traditional policy of neutrality and good neighbourliness with Russia has historical and geographical roots, considering the common border of about 1340 k.m.. This policy underwent a certain evolution in 1995, with the Finnish accession to the EU, but it then remained on the tracks of mutual political and economic advantage in the following years and up to the current crisis, which is creating tensions and discontent. Statements have been made by the spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry saying that a Swedish and / or Finnish membership of NATO could provoke a serious Russian response.

 In meetings with the press, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said it was "unlikely" but did not rule out that Finland could apply for NATO membership during this legislature, which will end in early 2023. In fact, Finland-NATO relations have been intensifying for some time. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Finland for the first time last October and said in a press conference afterwards that the door remains open for Finland's accession.

 The key difference, according to Stoltenberg, with being a member or not is that if one NATO member state were attacked, it would be interpreted as an attack on all member states. “This collective defence clause does not concern Finland. This is the difference between a member and a non-member,” Stoltenberg said on that occasion.

 At the same time, he described Finland as one of NATO's closest and most important partners, saying, "NATO fully respects the strong and independent security policy of Finland.”

 The eventual process of joining NATO could take up to two years, the government should propose joining the Parliament where it would be discussed and finally decided by the President of the Republic. Shortly before Stoltenberg's visit, Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen (centrist) attended a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels and stated that “NATO is a key player in promoting security and transatlantic and European stability. It is important that Finland regularly has the opportunity to exchange views with NATO and its allies.” In any case, Finland will not rush to decide whether to apply to become a full member of the NATO military alliance, the former said.

 Premier Marin (Social Democrat) stressed that a final decision on membership will take time to reach, and not by opinion polls or citizens' initiatives. "Party leaders agreed that the foreign policy environment has changed significantly after Russia's attack on Ukraine. Europe is at war. We have to admit it," Marin said in a press meeting. A few days earlier the Prime Minister announced that Finland will send arms to Ukraine, an unprecedented decision signed by President Sauli Niinistö on the basis of a cabinet proposal.

 The current Finnish government is run by a five-party centre-left coalition. Education minister and left-wing Alliance party chairman Li Andersson echoed Marin's position but also added that her party has not ruled out NATO membership. "This will certainly be an important issue in the upcoming parliamentary elections. These are important decisions concerning Finland's foreign and security policy. As decision makers it is our responsibility not to make hasty decisions, particularly when we do not know what the war will lead to.”

 The party of the National Coalition (conservative) has long supported NATO membership while the Swedish People's Party supported the idea of ​​joining NATO, but now the party's president, Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson, has said that a decision must be made that best protects the country's security. The current president of the Finnish party (right), MP Riikka Purra, said that the decision to join NATO must be taken carefully, despite the ongoing crisis. Meanwhile, Purra's predecessor and current chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, Jussi Halla-aho, caused a stir on Twitter by calling on NATO, the United Nations and the European Commission to take military action to defend Ukraine.

 In the first week of March, President Niinistö summoned the presidents of the parties elected to Parliament, the Bureau of Parliament and the presidents of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Commissions. Together with the commander of the defence forces, they seriously discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the effects of the ongoing war on the security of Finland and on the foreign and security policy of Finland. “Our security environment is now undergoing a rapid and drastic change. I fully understand the concerns and the need for Finns to react to the situation. However, in the midst of an acute crisis, it is especially important to remain calm and carefully evaluate the impact of past and future changes on our security, without wasting time, but carefully. We are constantly doing this work for the safety of Finland and the Finns.”

 During the era of the Iron Curtain, and until 1991, Finland complied with a rigid neutrality that the Western bloc called, contemptuously, ‘Finlandisation.’ The skilled and far-sighted executor of this policy towards the great Soviet neighbour, initiated after the war by President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, was President Urho Kekkonen. But if in Finland, the use of the term Finlandisation was perceived as heavy criticism, resulting from the inability to understand the practicalities of a situation in which a small nation tries to survive with a large and powerful neighbour without losing its sovereignty, for the Finns it was and still is a pragmatic and mutually beneficial 'realpolitik,' which also brings considerable economic benefits for mutual investments and trade. At this time, Finland is strengthening military cooperation programs with Sweden. On Friday, President Niinistö paid a quick visit to US president Biden and, as from a joint statement, “The Presidents committed to start a process that would strengthen US-Finnish security cooperation, which would be conducted in close consultation with other Nordic countries. The Presidents also discussed the importance of NATO’s Open Door policy.”

 Whether a ‘Finlandisation’ of Ukraine is possible in the current context, will be verifiable with the next developments of the current crisis.

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