Finland takes over its first command of European Union agency

Colonel Ilkka Laitinen to head EU Border Management Agency

Ilkka Laitinen

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Colonel Ilkka Laitinen of the Finnish Frontier Guard is the newly appointed head of the European Union Border Management Agency. Laitinen, who was chosen to the post on Wednesday, is the first and thus far the only Finn to lead an EU agency.
      Laitinen's rival candidates were Italian Rudolfo Ronconi and Spaniard Gil Arias. The election of the 42-year-old Laitinen was confirmed only after the third vote.
      The sensitiveness of the appointment was reflected in the EU Commission's way of defining the nomination of candidates several times. Even on Wednesday morning, it was still unclear which one of the nominees the Commission considered most competent.
     
Typical horse-trading in true EU fashion was once again needed before the nomination was resolved. Germany, for one, first promised to back up Laitinen, then decided against this.
      This was to ensure the election of German Max-Peter Ratzel as the new director of Europol earlier this week.
      Earlier this year the EU member states agreed on locating the Border Management Agency in Warsaw, Poland, where the voting also took place.
      The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, views Laitinen's appointment as significant. Rehn was Laitinen's fellow student at the Reserve Officer School.
      "Finland's frontier guard operation is exemplary, and it could be used as a model for the entire Union. This aided Laitinen in his election, and as the Union expands, the Border Management Agency's significance will surely increase", Rehn estimates.
     
For Finland, Laitinen's appointment brought some consolation after Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi managed to persuade the Union to allow Italy to host the EU Food Safety Agency instead of Finland, which had been the country of choice of practically all the other member states.
      Finland finally settled for a compromise that included the hosting of the future EU Chemicals Agency, once the controversial issue of European chemicals legislation has been resolved.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland needs more civil servants in Brussels (COLUMN, 24.5.2005)

Helsingin Sanomat