Finland clears final hurdle for NATO membership, will be admitted by July

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Image credit: Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey's parliament on Thursday approved Finland's bid for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, clearing the final obstacle for the Nordic country to become NATO's 31st member. Hungary's legislature ratified Finland's application on Monday. Finland will be formally admitted to NATO at the alliance's next meeting in July, in Lithuania, but if Ankara gets the ratification paperwork to Washington in time, Helsinki "could participate as a full member in a NATO foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for next week in Brussels," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"This will make the whole NATO family stronger and safer," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted after Turkey's parliament unanimously endorsed Finland's accession.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.