Finnish candidates to European Parliament want EU to be counterbalance to USA

Candidates still do not want EU to be independent military power

Teija Tiilikainen

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Finnish candidates in the European Parliament elections hope that the European Union could serve as a counterbalance to the influence of the United States in world politics.
      Answers given by candidates to questions in the Vaalikone, the candidate selection engine on the Helsingin Sanomat web site, indicate that two thirds of European Parliament candidates want Europe to put more emphasis on its own values. One third of candidates want Europe to emphasise common values with the United States, and to nurture the transatlantic partnership.
      The candidate selection engine allows readers to compare their views on key issues with those of the candidates, possibly helping in making an optimum choice on election day.
     
Comments given by the candidates reflect their views on the war in Iraq.
      "The unilateral power politics of the United States distances the country from the community values of Europe", says Reino Paasilinna (SDP).
      "There are characteristics in the actions of the United States, that do not differ from the activities that they call ‘terrorism’", writes Tanja Pelttari (Finnish Communist Party).
      There are sharp differences among the parties. Half of the candidates of the Swedish People’s Party preferred to emphasise common transatlantic values, while 90% of the candidates of the Green League wanted the EU to be a counterforce.
     
Already before the Iraq war there was debate over whether or not the EU should be developed into an independent military power, or if it should put its trust in NATO and rely on help from the United States.
      The European Parliament is also involved, even though decisions on security policy are made by the governments of the member states.
      "The EU faces a choice. Either the union will set up its own, independent capability for crisis management and security guarantees, or then it will always work in cooperation with NATO", says EU affairs expert Teija Tiilikainen.
     
The attitudes of many Finnish candidates would seem to put them in the same camp with France, which wants to focus on European values; the UK and many of the new member states favour the Euro-Atlantic dimension. Nevertheless, few Finns want to turn the EU into an independent military power.
      Judging from the answers, independence of the United States is seen as an economic or moral, but not a military issue.
      Two thirds of candidates responding to the Vaalikone questionnaire want Finland to take care of its own national defence. Fewer than 20% were willing to turn the EU into a military alliance responsible for the defence of its member states.
      "I am strongly opposed to the militarisation of the EU", says incumbent MEP Matti Wuori (Green).
      About 15% of the Finnish candidates were ready to join NATO. They included candidates from the National Coalition Party, the Swedish People’s Party, the Centre Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals.
      "All EU countries should join NATO, so that NATO would get a strong European dimension", says Viivi Avellan (Nat. Coalition).
     
The candidates also take a guarded view of the idea of a rapid deployment force for the EU. The establishment of such forces has been seen as one way that the EU could boost its military independence.
      Under Finnish government plans, about 200 Finnish professional soldiers could take part in such a force.
      Only one in five candidates felt that Finland should take part in all military activities of the EU, and set up a rapid deployment unit. Half preferred the option under which Finland should keep to traditional peacekeeping as authorised by the UN or the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
      The candidate selection engine reveals that the candidates for the European Parliament tend to be more nationalistic than the election programmes of their respective parties, in which boosting the EU’s crisis management capabilities is generally welcomed.
     
Most of the parties do not want the EU to be a competitor of NATO, emphasising instead cooperation with the alliance. Only the True Finns and the Left Alliance took a somewhat negative view of both NATO and EU military power.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Young voters being urged to exercise their right in European Parliament elections (14.5.2004)

Links:
  Vaalikone - Helsingin Sanomat candidate selection engine (currently available only in Finnish)

Helsingin Sanomat