Finland and Sweden have decided in principle to join NATO's rapid reaction force, Finnish media reported Saturday.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen confirmed on Saturday that Helsinki has expressed its interest to NATO in participating in the alliance's rapid reaction force.

"For Finland's part, we are ready to cooperate in exercises and we need this training because the same (operational) standards are used by EU rapid reaction troops," he added.

Vanhanen said other decisions concerning the NATO force will be taken once Finland has practical experience of the EU rapid reaction force. This will be no earlier than the end of this year, which means that any further decisions will be taken by the next cabinet.

According to Finnish media, Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt discussed the issue in January. They agreed in principle to join NATO's rapid reaction forces but would consider their participation in operations on a case-by-case basis.

Tuomioja told the Finnish Broadcasting Company on Saturday that the decision is not a step toward NATO membership. It is largely because the EU does not have its own exercises and in practice the NATO force is comprised of the same troops.

Finland and Sweden have recently increased cooperation with NATO and are members of the alliance's Partnership for Peace program. They also have troops under NATO command in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Source: Xinhua