President seals Finland's NATO bid by signing required laws

Finland and neighboring Sweden applied to become NATO members 10 months ago.

The Finnish president on Thursday formally sealed the Nordic country’s historic bid to join NATO by signing into law the required national legal amendments needed for membership in the Western military alliance.

The move by President Sauli Niinistö means Finland has completed national measures needed to join NATO, and is now just awaiting approval from Turkey and Hungary, the only two of NATO’s 30 existing members that haven't ratified its bid.

In Turkey on Thursday, a parliamentary committee approved Finland’s NATO application, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported, bringing Helsinki a step closer to joining the alliance.

Members of the Turkish parliament’s committee on foreign affairs voted in favor of Finland’s bid a week after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would move forward with ratifying it.

Finland’s application could be ratified by the full Turkish assembly, where Mr. Erdogan’s party and its allies hold a majority, as early as next week. Turkey has presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 14, and ratification is expected before that.

Admitting new countries requires unanimous approval from the alliance members, and the parliaments in Ankara and Budapest haven’t yet given the green light.

After delays of several months, the Hungarian parliament is finally expected to approve Finland's accession on March 27.