Finland not to join NATO Response Force

Finland and Sweden expected to give differing answers to NATO question

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Finland and Sweden are expected to have slightly differing attitudes toward NATO’s offer to take part in the NATO Response Force (NRF).
      At its summit meeting in Latvia last week, NATO offered non-NATO countries in the Partnership for Peace programme the opportunity to take part in NATO operations, and the alliance will soon ask Sweden, Finland, and Austria for their response to the offer.
      Sweden’s Minister of Defence Mikael Odenberg said in an interview in Saturday’s edition of the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet that the Swedish government would examine the offer "in a positive spirit". The Swedish government will probably agree to the offer.
      Norway’s Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Erichsen, who was interviewed for the same article, hoped that Finland and Sweden would take part in the operation.
      Helsingin Sanomat has learned that Finland will decline the offer.
     
Finland made up its mind earlier in the autumn, before the NATO summit.
      President Tarja Halonen announced on November 13th in a speech in Jyväskylä that she does not think that it is possible for Finland to make a general political commitment to take part in the NATO Response Force, "if such an opportunity were to be opened to the partnership countries".
      In Halonen’s view, it is important to maintain a clear distinction "between the present kind of cooperation and membership, or even a relationship similar to membership".
      NATO’s offer will be discussed at a meeting of the President and the government’s foreign and security policy committee.
      The government has previously decided that Finland can take part in exercises of NATO’s response force, and possibly in individual operations, to be decided on a case-by-case basis.
      There is not believed to be much disagreement between the government and President on the main content of the response to be sent to NATO. However, the way that the President has discussed the issue seems to annoy some ministers. Halonen has been seen to hurry to answer NATO’s offer even before it was made.
     
In military circles, the responses of Finland and Sweden to the NATO offer are not seen to differ very much. However, there are concerns about the "visual effect" that it is causing.
      Ever since 1994 Finland and Sweden have been part of the NATO-led Partnership for Peace programme, and until now, they have always had the same kids of responses to NATO offers of cooperation.
      According to Finnish experts, Odenberg’s positive attitude is an example of a desire by Sweden’s new government to establish a closer relationship with NATO. There have been other examples of this during the autumn.
      Experts see Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to be the main architect of the new NATO policy. As the idea of full membership, supported by Bildt, appears to be out of the question, he is seen to be bringing Sweden as close to NATO as possible.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland to be invited into NATO rapid action force at Riga summit (29.11.2006)
  Opposition leader welcomes NATO initiative, Prime Minister sceptical (30.11.2006)

Helsingin Sanomat