What is going on in the world? Will Finland permit nuclear weapons?

by Kati Juva

Finland has traditionally been active in promoting nuclear disarmament and alleviating international tensions. The legendary OSCE conference was held in Helsinki in 1975, and Finland was active promoting Nuclear-Free Norden.  Before joining NATO (2023) Finland hosted several meetings between the US and Russian leaders on security and disarmament.

Since the 1980s, the Finnish Nuclear Energy Act has prohibited import, transfer, manufacturing, deploying and explosion of nuclear weapons in Finland. The legislation was intended to prevent the Soviet Union from transferring their nuclear weapons to Finland in the event of a severe crisis. We had an Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance with the Soviets up to 1992.

There is currently a need to reform the whole act to revise the regulations for small nuclear power plants. Throughout the process we have been told that the paragraph prohibiting nuclear weapons will remain. At the beginning of March, the government announced totally out of the blue that the paragraph prohibiting nuclear weapons shall be removed from the act. 

This change has been prepared in total secrecy and within a very small group of leaders – the conservative party’s so-called straight flush—the prime minister, foreign and defence ministers, and the president. The proposal was a total surprise to the opposition and to civil society. Even the other government parties weren’t properly informed.  There has also been an unfathomable haste: the time for statements has been exceptionally short.

The opposition and civil society, along with several law scholars, have been appalled at the procedure. In Finland there has been a very long tradition of handling foreign and security policy through consensus or at least with wide parliamentary hearing. Now this tradition has been totally broken. 

When we joined NATO and made a defence cooperation agreement (DCA) in 2023 with the US, which included giving it the right to use up to 15 Finnish air bases as it wishes, we were told there was no need for any reservation regarding nuclear weapons because our legislation prohibits them. Thus —the government explained then—these agreements did not pose any major change in Finnish foreign and security policy. If this nuclear weapons prohibition is now lifted, it would give the US right to bring nuclear weapons to their Finnish bases without even informing us. High-level legal experts state this means giving away some of our sovereignty to a foreign state. This cannot be done by a normal legislative majority. The bill does not even state who would be responsible for decisions regarding import of nuclear weapons, and what would be the role of the customs in such case (they made a very sarcastic statement on this). 

The political uproar has of course been wide. Of the opposition parties, the Greens, Social Democrats, and the Left League have clearly stated they will vote against the bill. 

The government has been trying to soften the tumult by explaining there are currently no plans to import nuclear weapons to Finland, and there could be a political statement prohibiting them in peace time. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden have made similar statements. Iceland’s legislation prohibits nuclear weapons in any circumstances.  

This kind of a political statement will of course not be enough for us. We in ICAN Finland and IPPNW and in other organisations have begun a large campaign “No nukes to Finland.” There have already been demonstrations, and a big one is being planned. We have met politicians, written articles and op-eds, and producing videos and podcasts in a social media campaign. We have also created a petition against the bill that people can sign online.

Alas, the bill will probably pass. But at least the awareness of nuclear weapons and their humanitarian impact and of the instability of deterrence has and will increase.This will not pass without resistance. We will not be silent. Many MPs and other politicians, legal and security experts, the Finnish Red Cross, and civil society leaders are working with us. We are also grateful for the international support we have got from ICAN and IPPNW. It’s good to know we are not alone.

Kati Juva is Co-President of IPPNW and coordinator of ICAN-Finland.