Finland’s parliament on Wednesday voted to lift a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, approving a major defense policy shift aimed at aligning the country more closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deterrence strategy.Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said a strong majority backed the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, calling it a "historic reform" that strengthens Finland’s security and that of the alliance."The Parliament approved the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act with a strong 2/3 majority," Häkkänen said in a post on X."This historic reform strengthens the security of Finland and of NATO as a whole.In April 2023, Finland joined NATO in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ending decades of military non-alignment.
The move, aimed at securing Finland’s collective defense, roughly doubled NATO’s border with Russia.ANOTHER NATO ALLY SIGNS ONTO EUROPEAN NUCLEAR UMBRELLA AS CONTINENT BOOSTS SELF-DEFENSEEU Commissioner for Defence and Space, Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius (R) and Finnish Defence Minister Antti Haekkaenen (L) attend a press conference at the Ministry of Defence in Helsinki, Finland, on Sept.26, 2025.
(MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)"The overall nuclear weapons policy has been one of the most challenging issues in the Ministry of Defence during this parliamentary term.Years of study, discussions with nuclear-weapon states and other allies, and assessments of how Finland's security can best be strengthened in NATO," Häkkänen said.The measure repeals provisions in Finland’s 1987 Nuclear Energy Act that banned the import, production, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives.If enacted, the legislation would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, supplied or possessed in Finland where the country’s military defense requires it.FINLAND’S FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UKRAINE ‘IS NOW HOLDING THE CARDS’ AS RUSSIA SIGNALS TALKSThe NATO emblem is displayed during the NATO Summit hel...