Over 40% of Finnish Population Against NATO Membership, Poll Shows

HELSINKI (Sputnik) – More than 40% of Finnish citizens oppose the accession of their country into NATO, according to a Kantar TNS poll for the national newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

The survey showed that 42% of Finns said they do not want membership in the alliance, dropping below a 50% threshold for the first time in the history of polls by the outlet. Conversely, 28% said they would want Finland in NATO, which is 9 points more compared to 2019 results and the highest approval rate recorded by the newspaper so far.

The number of undecided respondents stood at 30%, which is linked to particularly active debates around NATO in Finland in the period from January 3-16, when the poll was held among 1,003 people aged from 18-79.

In Sweden, a poll conducted in Sweden by national sociological firm Sifo showed that 66% of the country’s population believe that the government should be more open to the idea of joining NATO, as reported by the TV4 broadcaster.

In addition, 35% said they want Sweden in NATO and 33% said they do not. A similar survey in 2018 logged 31% of respondents favouring NATO accession and 48% opposed to it.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance has close ties and cooperation with Sweden and Finland in all aspects and therefore these countries are welcome to join NATO immediately if they so decide.