Italy's lower house backs NATO membership for Finland and Sweden

FILE PHOTO: Brothers of Italy party leader Giorgia Meloni arrives for a meeting at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on Tuesday to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO in a vote welcomed by Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party is seen as the front runner in the coming election.

The lower house voted by 398 votes to 20 in favour of the bill which now needs a second, final green light from the Senate.