Another citizens’ initiative, which requires Finland to apply for membership in the NATO military alliance, has achieved the required 50,000 signatures and will be submitted to parliament for consideration by members of parliament.
The initiative – urging the authorities to apply for NATO membership in accordance with its obligation to protect constitutionally protected human rights – began on 25 February and reached the 50,000 threshold on Wednesday evening, less than a week.
Second NATO – based citizens’ initiative – called for a referendum on the matter – collected the required number of signatures on Saturday, was launched on 21 February and currently has the support of more than 76 000 people.
The initiative is justified in order to protect human rights
The latest initiative, which has been transferred to Parliament, justifies the need for NATO membership in the current situation in Europe, citing the fact that Finland does not have security guarantees.
In the current situation, the signatories see that NATO "The aim is to prevent war in the North Atlantic and to protect member states from attack through cooperation. Ultimately, it is a matter of securing our way of life with common guarantees of defense and security."
For these reasons, they urge Finland to apply for full membership of the union.
Proponents of the initiative add that the Parliament and the President of the Republic must fulfill their constitutional obligations to safeguard fundamental human rights through international cooperation by applying for NATO membership.
The initiative requires a straightforward membership requirement and not an actual legislative initiative, as in the previous initiative, which called on Parliament to hold a referendum.
One of the people behind the latest initiative is Yleโs journalist Jessikka Aro.
Source: The Nordic Page