President Ahtisaari’s CMI faces cash crunch - next years funding not secured

Organisation which brokered Aceh peace treaty seeks financing from abroad

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The Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) organisation run by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari could be facing a shortage of money. The employment contracts of all 15 employees are up for renewal at the end of the year, and funding for next year has not been secured.
      During the past four years, CMI has asked for financial support from the state budget, but so far it has not been accepted as a civic group eligible for state funding. A Parliamentary initiative made last year for an annual grant of EUR 200,000 to CMI reportedly failed because it was opposed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
      "We do not have any kind of basic funding. All of our money comes from our projects. It is a great challenge to try to guarantee some kind of continuity, when you never know about next year", says CMI Executive Director Pauliina Arola. "This is confusing, and a burden on our activities", she says.
     
While she does not want to say that the state is tight-fisted in its financing decisions, she points out that Finland has received a good deal of positive publicity in connection with the Aceh peace talks.
      CMI activities get much of their funding from foreign sources. For instance, Germany has given the office a grant of EUR 150,000. Money has also come from the other Nordic Countries, Britain, The Netherlands, and the United States.
      "It is kind of a strange situation; when we apply for money from Sweden or Norway, they ask how much Finland contributes. When we say that Finland is still thinking about it, they wonder if there is something wrong with us", Arola says.
     
CMI’s budget this year is EUR 3.5 million. Two million of this comes from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, but the funding is earmarked for the so-called Helsinki Process in which the Foreign Ministries of Finland and Tanzania ponder issues of globalisation. CMI is serving as a secretariat for the process. In addition, the Foreign Ministry has provided EUR 35,000 for two research programmes.
      The EUR 1.5 million for CMI’s own projects comes in the form of small grants from governments, international organisations, companies, and foundations, such as the Open Society Institute of US investor George Soros.
      Arola says that all of the money provided by the Finnish Foreign Ministry this year will go be used up by the Helsinki Process.
      "Finland likes to nurture the idea that we are a peacemaker in the world, and the achievements of people like Ahtisaari are raised in this connection. The state would need a clear strategy for supporting work for peace", Arola says.
     
MP Liisa Jaakonsaari (SDP), who made the Parliamentary initiative for funding of CMI, is even more outspoken.
      "It is a shame that Finland does not support work like that of Ahtisaari’s office. The world is different from what it used to be. International know-how is measured in terms of ideas, initiatives, and moving forward, and not on the basis of happening to be between East and West."
      Jaakonsaari adds that the state provides support to many organisations "that were once important".
      For instance, the Finnish UN Association is slated to get EUR 265,000 next year, and the European Movement in Finland is getting EUR 219,000.
     
One reason that has been suggested for the reluctance to contribute to CMI is that the new type of civic organisation can be seen to be encroaching on the Foreign Ministry’s turf.
      The Ministry for Foreign Affairs rejects all such speculation. Speaking anonymously, one official notes that CMI is just five years old, and that the ministry has a policy of commissioning outside organisations like CMI for projects only if it lacks expertise itself.
      "Ahtisaari’s office is a very important cooperative partner for us", says Pilvi-Sisko Vierros Villeneuve, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Political Department. "It is our staunch hope to get them the support they want."
      Next year’s funding decisions will be discussed at the government’s budget talks next week. However, the draft budget still does not mention CMI as one of the organisations receiving a state grant. This means that any state money would have to come from the Foreign Ministry’s own funds.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Thousands in Aceh celebrate as peace treaty is signed in Helsinki (16.8.2005)
  Finnish observers to be first into Aceh to monitor peace (15.8.2005)

Links:
  Crisis Management Initiative

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