Foreign Minister Kanerva: This government will not apply for NATO membership

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva (Natl Coalition Party) said on Wednesday that the new government will not apply for membership in NATO.
      Speaking during Parliamentary debate on the government's policy programme, Kanerva said that Finland is developing cooperation with NATO on the basis of the Partnership for Peace programme.
      Kanerva added that Finland will reserve for itself the possibility of applying for NATO membership, adding: "it is not on anyone's drawing board today, as such".
      Suspicions about the government's possible intentions concerning NATO were raised especially by the Left Alliance. Esko-Juhani Tennilä (Left) said that the decision to join with Sweden in participating in the NATO Reaction Force (NRF) was "a significant step toward NATO". Tennilä pondered that if Sweden's centre-right government decides to go into NATO, Finland will follow.
      Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) insisted again that no new decisions had been made concerning NRF. Kanerva noted that Finland stands fully behind its own decisions, even though it works in close cooperation with Sweden.
      Participation in NRF operations will be assessed according to the experiences that Finland gets concerning the EU's rapid deployment forces.
      Kanerva also explained why the government's programme no longer refers to Finland as "non-allied".
      "We feel that the other EU countries are our allies, with whom a strong mutual solidarity prevails", Kanerva said, adding that therefore, the concept of being non-allied does not reflect Finland's practical position in international politics.
      It also came out in the debate that the government has not yet decided whether or not to give the next defence report to Parliament in 2008 or 2009. The impact of joining an alliance is to be evaluated in connection with the report.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Minister Kääriäinen: Finland must spend more on defence, or join NATO (2.11.2006)
  Sweden and Finland pledge to keep each other informed of NATO plans (16.10.2006)
  Openness to NATO sets tone of meeting of Finnish and Swedish foreign ministers (23.4.2007)
  Finland and Sweden ready to participate in NATO Response Force (16.4.2007)
  Sweden more positive than Finland toward NATO Response Force (11.12.2006)
  Finland not to join NATO Response Force (5.12.2006)
  Finland to be invited into NATO rapid action force at Riga summit (29.11.2006)