Finland parliament votes 125-61 to lift ban on nuclear weapons
What's next: The bill now goes to the president and would align Finland's law with NATO nuclear deterrence policy.
Finland's parliament voted 125-61 on Tuesday to scrap the country's blanket ban on nuclear weapons, a major legal shift after Helsinki joined NATO in 2023. The bill would allow nuclear weapons to be brought into, transported through, supplied in or possessed in Finland when required for military defense. It also repeals decades-old restrictions in the Nuclear Energy Act and updates the criminal code to carve out exceptions for nuclear arms. The measure now needs presidential approval. The change has drawn criticism from opposition parties, which argue Finland is abandoning its longstanding anti-nuclear position as it moves closer to NATO's deterrence framework.