Recent statements from within the Green party, a member of the ruling coalition, suggest that Finnish NATO membership could be on the cards in as little as five years.
The apparent change in tune marks a shift in the position adopted by the party in 2018, that Finland has no imminent reason to apply for NATO membership.
However, such decisions are not made overnight, current Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto of the Greens told the YLE morning show in an interview on Monday. He hoped the discussion would be analytical and encouraged everyone to engage.
Behind Haavisto, the party’s father-figure and older statesman, the floodgates appear to be opening, at least slightly. The first to ditch the original party line was Atte Harjanne, the Greens’ parliamentary group chair. He said the time has come to use the NATO option and apply.
All three Finnish Green MEPs have given at least the yellow or even the green light to the military alliance. At the start of this week, MEP Ville Niinistö predicted that Finland’s application could be actualised within the next five years.
MEP Alviina Alamets, for her part, told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat in an interview that “after long consideration” she had reached the conclusion that NATO membership would secure Finland’s independence and strengthen peace in the Baltic Sea. MEP Heidi Hautala already stated her principally positive stance a few years ago.
Holding back on her views is MP Iiris Suomela, the party’s acting leader while Party Chair Maria Ohisalo is currently on maternity leave. According to Suomela, the Greens observe the situation and anticipate a discussion. In the Helsingin Sanomat interview, she said what matters to her personally is how the leading NATO countries see and consider basic human rights.
The liberal-conservative National Conservative party and the Swedish People’s Party are fully supporting NATO membership so far.
Moscow electrifies NATO debate Pre-Christmas statements from the Kremlin have challenged the dogmas of Finland’s foreign and security policy and have electrified the debate on possible NATO membership. In December, Russia gave an ultimatum that NATO should commit itself not to expand eastwards. …
_JohnJacob on January 6th, 2022 at 03:46 UTC »
Being Finnish she would obviously know far more than I but it's my understanding that overt Finnish neutrality, Finlandization, was the only thing that saved them from the USSR extending it's curtain.
I don't think things have changed all that much on that front.
I'm curious to read how I'm obviously wrong.
talkorpi on January 6th, 2022 at 03:36 UTC »
Hello, everyone. I have been lurking in this sub for a long time, but I decided to share my first post here since I am interested in European geopolitics and found this news to be rather consequential.
Submission Statement: The Finnish Green Party, one of the larger political parties in Finland, a key partner in the current government coalition, and the party that currently holds the Foreign Ministry, has recently changed its official party platform from pro-neutrality to pro-NATO membership. The Finnish Foreign Minister from the Green Party, Pekka Haavisto, recently suggested in an interview with national broadcaster YLE that Finland very well could apply for NATO membership within the next five years. The ongoing NATO-Russia conflict, coupled with Moscow's direct demands of NATO not expanding into the country, seems to be backfiring as they are pushing formerly pro-neutrality political parties towards NATO membership. The Green Party is now officially the third political party in Finland that supports NATO membership, along with the opposition center-right National Coalition Party and the government coalition partner and centrist Swedish People's Party.
Blujeanstraveler on January 6th, 2022 at 03:32 UTC »
MEP Alviina Alamets, for her part, told the tabloid Ilta-Sanomat in an interview that “after long consideration” she had reached the conclusion that NATO membership would secure Finland’s independence and strengthen peace in the Baltic Sea.