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12:01 a.m.: Finland’s parliament moved closer Tuesday toward accelerating its bid to join NATO, increasing the likelihood that it would leave its neighbor Sweden behind to rapidly enter the trans-Atlantic defense pact, Agence France-Presse reported. 

A vote is scheduled by Finnish MPs on Wednesday afternoon for speeding up the ascension process, as the two countries have the backing of all but two of NATO’s 30 members, the holdouts being Hungary and Turkey. 

Many Finnish lawmakers have pushed for legislation affirming that Finland accepts the terms of the NATO treaty even before elections on April 2. 

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Ankara now looks favorably on Finland’s bid. 

While passing the bill does not mean that Finland will automatically join NATO after ratification by Turkey and Hungary, it puts in place a deadline for how long it can wait for Sweden. 

Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse. [Read More]

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Source: VOA News: Economy and Finance