Chairman of the Center and Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko on Saturday asked his party for support before a possible NATO application.
Saarikko spoke at the Center Assembly in Vaasa.
He said the party must decide on membership of the military alliance at the Downtown Congress in June.
However, Saarikko said that the Center could support Finns’ efforts to join NATO if the application comes before the June party meeting.
The Center has traditionally supported military non-alignment. However, opinion polls have shown that many centrists are in favor of Finland joining the alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to Yle’s opinion poll conducted in March, two-thirds of the members of the Center Council were in favor of NATO membership.
Last weekend, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) told its own party government on Saturday that the possible accession of Finns to NATO must be done before the summer.
Source: The Nordic Page