Finland becomes 5th European nation to exit Ottawa landmine treaty — here's why it matters

Finland is leaving the Ottawa Treaty, which bans anti- personnel land mines, becoming the fifth European country to do so. The Finnish Parliament approved this decision on Thursday by a vote of 157 in favor and 18 against. The Parliament also approved the government's bill for withdrawal by a vote of 155 to 18, as per the report by Helsingin Sanomat.
Some members voted against leaving the treaty, left Alliance reps, seven Greens, and Eva Biaudet from the ruling party RKP. Nine members of the Social Democratic Party were absent during the vote. Four National Coalition Party members and three Finns Party members were also absent. SDP had internal problems about withdrawing from the treaty. Seven SDP MPs wanted to vote against withdrawal but were denied permission by their party group, according to the report by Helsingin Sanomat.
This likely explains why many SDP members were absent from the vote. Johan Kvarnstrom said before the vote that he would not support bringing back anti-personnel mines. Anna-Kristiina Mikkonen said she missed the vote because of travel restrictions late in her pregnancy but would have voted to withdraw.
Suna Kymalainen said she supports withdrawal but could not attend the vote. Eemeli Peltonen would have supported withdrawal but was on sick leave. Elisa Gebhard was present earlier in the day but left to see a doctor and later got sick leave, so she missed the vote, as stated by Helsingin Sanomat.
Elisa Gebhard said she can show her sick leave certificate if needed. SDP parliamentary group chair Tytti Tuppurainen said she will check reasons for absences but did not comment on any punishments. Tuppurainen said the SDP group is in good spirits and that the vote shows SDP cares about Finnish safety in all situations.
Live Events
The Finnish government announced in April it would prepare to leave the treaty, mainly because of Russia's actions. Minister of Defense Antti Hakkanen said anti-personnel mines are a defensive weapon. Hakkanen explained Russia uses mines heavily to defend territory and attack, and mines fit well with Finland's rugged terrain, according to the report by Helsingin Sanomat.
Security threats for treaty exit
Finland joined the Ottawa Treaty in late 2011, and it became effective in 2012. Finland joined the treaty much later than most EU countries, since the treaty was signed in 1997. Finnish MPs voted on Thursday to approve withdrawal to resume using anti-personnel landmines, as stated by yle report.
The vote was 157 in favor, 18 against, and 24 absent. Those against included 10 Left Alliance MPs, 7 Greens MPs, and 1 from the Swedish People's Party. The Finnish government sent the withdrawal proposal to Parliament late last month and said they were preparing for it since spring.
Finland's next plan
The next steps are, the President of Finland will confirm the decision, and Finland will notify the UN Secretary-General. The treaty bans use, making, stockpiling, transferring, and requires destroying anti-personnel mines. In 2012, Finland was the last EU member to join the treaty, as stated by yle report.
Earlier this spring, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland also announced leaving the treaty. Last week, Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee supported withdrawing, saying Finland needs to rethink treaty limits that could weaken its defense amid tougher security.
The Committee's chairman said Finland must still prove it supports international rules by concrete actions. The committee also suggested Finland keep supporting humanitarian efforts like clearing mines in crisis areas. On Thursday, MPs also approved the Foreign Affairs Committee's statement, according to the report by yle.
FAQs
Q1. Why did Finland leave the Ottawa Treaty?
To strengthen its defense against rising threats, especially from Russia.
Q2. What does the
Ottawa Treaty ban
?
It bans using, making, storing, and moving anti-personnel landmines.
Economic Times WhatsApp channel
)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Hindu

17 minutes ago

• The Hindu

U.K. lawmakers back bill to allow terminally ill adults to end their lives

U.K. lawmakers on Friday (June 20, 2025) backed a bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives in a historic vote in Parliament that takes it a step nearer to becoming law. Members of Parliament voted 314-291 to back the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill following an impassioned and respectful debate. The bill now goes to the unelected House of Lords, which can amend or delay policy, though it can't overrule the lower chamber. The bill would allow terminally ill adults over age 18 in England and Wales, who are deemed to have less than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death. The terminally ill person would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves. Proponents of the bill argue those with a terminal diagnosis must be given a choice at the end of their lives. However, opponents say the disabled and older people could be at risk of being coerced, directly or indirectly, into ending their lives to save money or relieve the burden on family members. Others have called for improvements in palliative care and greater investments in hospices to ease suffering as a better and more moral alternative. Diane Abbott, a veteran left-wing Labour lawmaker, urged MPs to 'speak up for the voiceless one more time, because there is no doubt that if this bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not need to, and they will be amongst the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society.' Passions were running high outside of Parliament where hundreds of people gathered to make their voices heard. Supporters were dressed in clothing emblazoned with the phrase 'Campaign for Dignity in Dying,' while opponents held up banners urging lawmakers not to make the state-run National Health Service the 'National Suicide Service.' The vote is potentially the biggest change to social policy since abortion was partially legalized in 1967.

NDTV

18 minutes ago

• NDTV

No US In NATO? That's Ok. Rafale Calling, Says Emmanuel Macron On X

New Delhi: Emmanuel Macron has a message for the rest of Europe - the Rafale fighter jet is calling. The French President's quirky X post Friday afternoon featured an Apple iPhone with an incoming call from 'Rafale' and a close-up of the jet arcing over barren and rocky land. "European friends, you have a call," Macron wrote. Amusing, yes. But there was a clear message to the rest of Europe - 'we need to strengthen our combined defences and act independently on matters of continental security'. Macron has sought repeatedly to push the European Union to be self-reliant on defence, driven by concerns like Russia's war in Ukraine and Donald Trump's repeated warning to other NATO members - up your defence contributions to match that of the US, or risk losing the American military umbrella. European friends, you have a call. — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 20, 2025 To that end the 'Rafale calling' X post is a shout-out to Europe to increase collaboration in matters of military hardware and reduce dependence on American imports. Rafale = 'Independent Europe'? But why is the Rafale a symbol for this European independence? Because it is almost entirely built and designed within Europe, in France, and its manufacturing and maintenance represents autonomy from Trump's administration. It is a 4.5 generation multirole fighter capable of air superiority and ground attack missions, with a range of munitions, including the Meteor, a beyond visual range air-to-air missile that can target enemy aircraft 150km away, and the SCALP cruise missile that has a range of 300km. Rafales also have the MICA, a versatile air-to-air missile. But, as capable as it is, in recent years many European nations have opted for the US' F-35 stealth fighter, a 5th generation aircraft widely seen as one of the most advanced in the world. In April India signed a deal to buy 26 Navy variants of the Rafale fighter jet (File). Poland and Finland, for example, chose the F-35. The former bought 32 F-35 Lightning II variants for US$4.6 billion, while Finland is in the process of buying 64 for US$9.4 billion. Apart from these two, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Romania, Greece, Austria, Czechia, and other European countries also have F-35s parked in their airbases. All of this is despite the F-35's infamous fragility; a British F-35, for example, has been parked in at Thiruvananthapuram airport for nearly a week because of a "technical snag". Both the Rafale and the F-35 have seen combat; the former was used by the Indian Air Force during Operation Sindoor, Delhi's military response to the April terror attack in Pahalgam. To that end, Macron's 'Rafale calling' X post is seen as an 'ad' for EU military independence. 'Massive Common Funding' In March, ahead of a special summit, Macron called for "massive, common funding... probably hundreds of billions of euros... to define our capacity needs for a common defence". He said the need to make that shift had become all the more urgent because the US, under Trump's 'America First' foreign policy, was slowly but surely pivoting away from Europe. "It's quarter to the midnight. As there are doubts over the support of the Americans towards Europe over time, we need to mobilise hundreds of billions of euros... it is Europe's strategic wake-up moment," French daily Le Parisien quoted him as saying. "We must offer European alternatives to countries accustomed to US equipment... scaling up production of these will lower costs and create a self-sustaining defence network across Europe." He isn't alone in this; Friedrich Merz, then the incoming German Chancellor, said it was his "absolute priority" to strengthen his nation and Europe to "achieve independence from the US".

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

Swiss Seek European Arms Procurement Ties to Bolster Defense

(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss government is seeking closer collaboration with other European nations in defense procurement, following warnings by senior officials over the country's struggling arms industry. As part of a new defense strategy announced on Friday, Switzerland aims to buy at least 30% of its arms from Europe. Swiss forces should also use the same weapon systems as their neighbors, or at least compatible ones, the government said in a statement. 'It's a give and take,' the government said. 'Swiss companies need to gain access to international cooperation and the supply chains of foreign system suppliers.' Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and concern over US President Donald Trump's commitment to NATO's mutual defense clause is forcing Europe to rearm, making it more challenging for small countries like Switzerland to place orders. At the same time, the Swiss defense industry has been frozen out of procurement efforts as the country's rules — rooted in its neutrality stance — mean it has blocked requests to send arms and ammunition to Ukraine. As neither a member of NATO nor the European Union, the Federal Council reiterated that neutral Switzerland is finding it difficult to order arms, as suppliers ship to bigger countries first. The strategy update will likely put further pressure on parliament to ease stringent rules, which forbid the re-export of war material with more than 50% of domestically produced components. Swiss defense exports have slumped by 30% from a record in 2022, as arms producers have started to shift production abroad to circumvent the restrictions. 'Because it refuses to re-export Swiss war material to Ukraine, it is no longer regarded as a reliable partner by European countries,' the government said. 'An increasing number of countries are therefore excluding Switzerland from procurement projects and supply chains.' Earlier this month, NATO member states adopted the alliance's most ambitious military ramp-up since the Cold War. Last week, the Swiss Upper House approved proposals that would reinstate the government's power to permit passing on such arms to conflict zones. The bill still needs approval in parliament's Lower House. Though small in its contribution to economic output, the Swiss policy of ''armed neutrality' has magnified importance of the country's defense sector: Swiss law enshrines the need to maintain an industrial capacity 'adapted to the requirements of its national defense.' Senior officials have expressed fears that a dwindling domestic defense industry lowers Switzerland's negotiating heft with foreign suppliers. More stories like this are available on