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The agreement will allow the U.S. military to operate and store defense supplies on Finnish territory.
Parliament will ratify Finland’s Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States on Monday. MPs broadly approved the treaty’s contents during a debate on Friday based on a report by the Foreign Affairs Committee. The 17-member committee, which includes members of almost all political parties, unanimously approved the treaty on Thursday.
The commission noted that Washington has similar agreements with 11 other NATO countries.
“The template of the agreement with Norway, Sweden and Denmark is similar to the one reached with Finland, which helps the Nordic countries to strengthen regional cooperation with the United States,” the commission said.
Finland began negotiations with Washington on the DCA after applying to join NATO in May 2022, spurred by Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine a few months ago.
The agreement strengthens Finland’s defense capabilities by allowing US troops to station and store defense supplies on Finnish territory and to conduct bilateral cooperation in any crisis situations.
Reaching consensus on existential security “is a big deal”
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said the treaty had wider foreign and security policy implications. Kimo Kiryunin Member of the opposition Social Democratic Party.
“This is a big, special, historic moment,” he said Friday. “The agreement with the United States is exactly the same as the basis for Finland’s membership of NATO. It is about strengthening the security of Finland and its people. Of course, this has wider foreign and security policy implications, but it specifically promotes defense cooperation between Finland and the United States.”
Friday’s parliamentary debate also highlighted the importance of cooperation across the legislature’s parties on key foreign and security policy issues.
“The Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the DCA report unanimously. It is historically significant that we were able to reach consensus and understanding on major, life-or-death foreign and security policy issues,” said Kirjunen, former director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Helsinki.
Minister of Defense of Finland Antti Hakanen (NCP) and the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken sign The agreement was signed with the United States in December last year, but its entry into force requires approval by the full parliament.
The full session will continue to consider the DCA agreement starting at noon on Monday. Lawmakers are expected to give final approval to the bill by a wide margin.
Last year, Parliament Officially recognized Finland won the NATO vote by a margin of 184 to 7, with all but one of the opposing votes coming from Left Alliance MPs.
Lawmakers are trying to finish this week’s work before the summer recess, which usually begins in late June.
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