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

HELSINKI, March 5 (Reuters) - 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 full story Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Hakkanen attends the defense ministers' meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), in Bodoe, Norway, November 5, 2025. NTB/Fredrik Varfjell via REUTERS HELSINKI, March 5 (Reuters) - 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.NATO allies France and ​Germany announced plans on Monday to deepen cooperation with European partners on nuclear deterrence, marking a policy shift as the continent faces rising threats from Russia and instability linked ⁠to the Iran conflict.Sweden's doctrine is to station no permanent foreign troops or nuclear weapons on its soil in peacetime, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters last week, when asked about the possibility of his country hosting French nuclear arms."If we were ​to find ourselves in a completely different situation, that ⁠particular formulation would not apply," Kristersson said.Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia and in ​2024 signed a defence pact with the United ‌States, allowing it to use 15 of Finland's ​military facilities and zones. (Reporting by Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, additional reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Terje Solsvik and Aidan Lewis) Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates! Report a mistake What is the issue about? Spelling and grammatical error Factually incorrect Story is irrelevant This field is mandatory. Please provide details of the report. Email (optional) Please enter valid email. Report issue Cancel Invalid captcha response. Please re-try again. Thank you for your report!