Finland's application for NATO membership not ruled out in next 4 years

The future Finnish government will not outright rule out an application to become a member of NATO during the period 2015-2019, according to an official framework document issued on Wednesday.

However, a detailed review of the possible impacts of a NATO membership will be done before any concrete step is taken.

The move signals a major change in policy line as the current Finnish government announced when it started action in 2011 that no application would be handed in during its tenure.

The latest framework was laid out as the election winner Center Party led talks with selected parties over the formation of a new government.

The Center Party leader and would-be prime minister Juha Sipila said the new security formulation reflected the views that prevailed a meeting of all party leaders convened by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in December 2014.

The framework document also underlined the importance of the European Union in terms of security policy.

Noting the worsened security situation in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, the document said the spending on national defense will be increased moderately. Endit