Finland has to be an active contributor, not a bystander
In its foreign policy, Finland has to be an active contributor, not a bystander, the current Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb emphasised in a discussion titled ‘Foreign Ministers on the Arena’ in Pori on 16 July. The discussion, attended also by two former Foreign Ministers, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen and Member of Parliament Erkki Tuomioja, was part of the presentation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in the series of MTV3’s SuomiAreena debates.
The event was hosted by Arno Ahosniemi, Editor-in-Chief of the Pohjalainen newspaper.
Towards a multipolar world
Foreign Minister Stubb estimated that, globally speaking, we are going through a transition from earlier stages, first the bipolar world and then the monopolar world, towards a multipolar world. Finland’s line of policy should be multilateralism and active contribution and influencing. It must be possible to discuss even foreign policy issues openly. For Finland, the key forum for influencing is the European Union, the Minister pondered. Naturally, bilateral activities in foreign policy are also still important, Stubb added.
MP Tuomioja, on the other hand, reminded of the importance of Nordic cooperation in today’s highly globalised world. The Nordic countries are also the key reference group for the Finnish brand project, Tuomioja estimated.
The highlights of ministerial careers
All panellists estimated which have been the highlights of their terms as Foreign Minister. Paavo Väyrynen, who started as Foreign Minister as early as in 1977 at the young age of 30, highlighted the official visit to the Soviet Union at the very beginning of his career and the 10th anniversary of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE).
As the highlight of his career, Erkki Tuomioja, who acted as Foreign Minister at the turn of the century, mentioned the meeting of Nordic Foreign Ministers that could be realised at the very beginning of his career. In addition, he highlighted also the Finnish EU Presidencies in 1999 and 2007, during the latter of which he served as the Foreign Minister. This EU Presidency also included the Lebanon war, during which Tuomioja regarded that the EU, for the first time, attained a political role in the solution of the Middle East crisis.
On his career as Foreign Minister, which started in April 2008, Alexander Stubb highlighted two difficult incidents, the bus accident in Spain and the war in Georgia. As holder of the OSCE Chairmanship, Finland played a central role in the conflict between Georgia and Russia that started in August 2008.
Finland and Russia
As far as the meaning of Russia for Finland is concerned, the panellists were quite unanimous. Russia is one of the most important trading partners for Finland and a vital factor in trade in general for Finland, Väyrynen pointed out. The relations with Russia are very important for Finland, Stubb emphasised as well. We still share a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, we have immigrants from Russia, and the trade is active, Stubb stated.
Tuomioja reminded that Russia is still in a state of transition. In the wake of globalisation, the meaning of so-called power politics has changed, and this is a challenge to, for instance, Russia. It is a positive development that the United States has now shown willingness to press the ‘reset’ button in its relations with Russia.
Neutrality or military non-alignment?
When asked whether Finland is a neutral or a militarily non-aligned country, a lively debate ensued among the panellists. Minister Stubb and MP Tuomioja agreed that Finland is a militarily non-aligned state. Stubb reminded that the official definition is that Finland is a militarily non-allied country. In other words, Finland is not a neutral state.
Minister Väyrynen, on the other hand, was of the opinion that in the Russian language, militarily non-aligned is translated with a word meaning ‘neutral’. In the branding of Finland, neutrality would have some utility value as well, he pondered.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs at your service
Minister Stubb reminded that, in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Minister does not operate on his own, but he is assisted by 1,700 civil servants and 97 foreign missions outside of Finland with an additional staff of some thousand locally hired people. With help of this staff we promote the interests of Finland and the Finns, the Minister underscored. The everyday life of a minister is hectic and, on a weekly basis, the number of various calendar entries amounts to some 60, but the work teaches you, Stubb added. In this position, you learn something new every day, he estimated.
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs presenting itself and taking part in debates at the SuomiAreena event in Pori
- The branding project very important for Finland