Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that the government is not planning any increase in defence cooperation with Sweden. In a radio interview on Sunday, Vanhanen said that common air surveillance with Sweden would be a massive leap.
The Prime Minister was commenting on a suggestion put forward by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) on Saturday calling for closer defence cooperation between the two countries. Vanhanen saw the proposal as Tuomioja’s personal "vision", adding that the government has not discussed the matter.
Vanhanen said that the government is nevertheless eager to take part in a discussion in which Sweden and Norway are considering closer cooperation.
Vanhanen also took a stand on debate over constitutional reform and the powers of the President of the Republic. He criticised recent calls for reducing Presidential powers as vague, and urged those calling for further changes to say more precisely what powers should actually be taken away from the head of state.
Vanhanen was not very enthusiastic about calls that emerged during the weekend for political cooperation between his Centre Party and the conservative National Coalition Party, which is now in opposition. Most recently, Conservative MEP Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) suggested that his party and the Centre Party could eventually be merged.
"One Member of the European Parliament threw a ball into the debate, and I think that too many people grabbed on to it", Vanhanen said, dismissively.
