Finland to lift full ban on hosting nuclear arms, government says

HELSINKI, March 5 - Finland plans to lift a long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory, the government said on Thursday, aligning with Nordic neighbours in a move that could open the door to deploying atomic bombs on Finnish soil during times of war. Read more at straitstimes.com.

HELSINKI, March 5 - Finland plans to lift a long-standing ban on having nuclear arms on its territory, the government said on Thursday, aligning with Nordic neighbours in a move that could open the door to deploying atomic bombs on Finnish soil during times of war.

Finland's Nuclear Energy Act, passed in 1987, prohibits the import, manufacture, possession and detonation of nuclear explosives on its soil, seen by some Finns as a clause that would benefit only Russia if there ever was a war.

While Finland maintained neutrality during the Cold War era, the country in 2023 joined the NATO military alliance in response to nuclear-armed Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine the preceding year.

"The amendment is necessary to enable Finland's military defense as part of the alliance and to take full advantage of NATO's deterrence and collective defence," Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen told a press conference.

The proposed change will next go to parliament where the right-wing coalition government holds a majority.

Neighbours Sweden, Denmark and Norway have long-standing policies against nuclear weapons on their territories in peacetime but do not have legislative bans during war.