Finland

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

Finland has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

National position

Since applying for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 2022, Finland has voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”. From 2018 to 2021, it had abstained from voting on the resolution.

Finland was admitted as a NATO member in 2023. It said in a letter of intent to NATO that it accepted “NATO’s approach to security and defence, including the essential role of nuclear weapons”.

Soon after joining the alliance, the Finnish government outlined its position regarding the TPNW in a statement to the country’s parliament. “The [TPNW] is incompatible with our NATO membership,” it said. “The TPNW would weaken our influence in the alliance and could be interpreted as a lack of solidarity.”

Moreover, it argued that the TPNW “does not promote nuclear disarmament, its provisions are unclear, and joining [it] would weaken Finland’s security policy position”.

In 2022, the foreign affairs committee of the Finnish parliament indicated that, as a future NATO member, Finland would retain “its high profile in matters of disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, without questioning the role of NATO’s nuclear deterrence”.

Meetings of states parties

Finland observed the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022, consistent with the commitment of the then-prime minister, Sanna Marin, to “participate in the dialogue concerning the [TPNW]”. However, it opted not to observe the second such meeting in 2023.

“NATO’s nuclear powers have criticised member countries that participated in the TPNW meeting in June 2022 and often recall the incompatibility of NATO membership and the TPNW,” the Finnish government informed the parliament in 2023, recommending that the country refrain from observing all future TPNW meetings.

Political developments

The Social Democratic Party, the Green League, and the Left Alliance have expressed their support for joining the TPNW.

In 2023, the Social Democrats said that the TPNW and Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 “complement each other”, adding: “Being involved in the process of prohibiting nuclear weapons totally, Finland also makes it clear that a sustainable future cannot be based on nuclear weapons.”

The foreign affairs committee of the Finnish parliament issued a statement in 2018 recommending that the government of Finland “continue to analyse the contents of the treaty”. It also noted that the TPNW “supports and complements” earlier treaties. In 2021, the parliament adopted a policy “to continue analysing” the TPNW.

Erkki Tuomioja, a former Finnish foreign minister, voiced his support for the TPNW in 2020, noting that one of the reasons for Finland’s reluctance to join it to date has been “the displeasure the US would show at such a step”.

Public opinion

A public opinion poll conducted by Kantar TNS Oy in 2019 found that 84 per cent of Finns believe that their government should sign the TPNW, with 8 per cent opposed to signing and 8 per cent undecided.

TPNW negotiations

Finland did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.

In 2016, Finland abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

In 2012, the then-president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, receives one thousand hand-folded paper cranes from Hiroshima, Japan, as part of an ICAN initiative.

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Finland

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Meetings of states parties

Political developments

Public opinion

TPNW negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

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