Advancing step by step toward NATO
COLUMN
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By Max Jakobson
Preparations for Finnish security and defence policy have been launched, so that in the autumn of next year it would be possible to present a report to Parliament. It is customary for this significant document to be published at four-year intervals.
However, nowadays four years is a period of time in which many important international changes can take place, and those who prepare the defence policy report should represent a new spirit - at least this is what is expected. Therefore, a group of experts is being given the task to start pondering during the autumn whether or not Finland will join NATO, or if Finland will continue to remain outside of it. What would the advantages be of NATO membership, and what are the drawbacks?
Naturally I do not mean that joining NATO will be accepted already now. The President and some of the country's politicians are known to be opposed to NATO, and a majority of the people reject joining NATO because it is an organisation led by the United States, and the United States has - through the unfortunate situation in Iraq - lost the confidence of many Europeans.
But the world is changing, and significantly so. At the end of next year a new President will be elected in Washington. It will most probably be the nominee of the Democrat Party, who will create a new foreign policy. In Europe, France's newly-elected President Nicolas Sarkozy has conspicuously strengthened relations with the United States, and is seeking to support US actions in Iraq.
Russia's leaders, on the other hand, have advertised Russia's rise to great-power status once again. In his speeches, President Vladimir Putin has emphasised his country's military strength, and the quality of its weaponry. He has also taken sharp stands on international situations.
Even the North Pole has been declared as belonging to Russia. There are attempts to force the former Soviet republics - Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia - to acquiesce to Russian power. The Russian Putin-youth organisation Nashi is expanding with each successive year. Putin has also promoted a modern history book for schoolchildren, in which even Stalin is presented as a respectworthy statesman.
So what is Russia's future right now? The question was put to a Russian lecturer at an international conference. After thinking for a while the answer came "everything will go well as long as Putin remains President and the price of oil stays high..." Putin has overwhelming public support - perhaps he might be called on to continue as President anyway.
Finland's relationship with Russia has naturally changed significantly from the relationship that Helsinki had with Moscow under the Soviet Union. When the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance was in force, Finland was an area of strategic interest from the Russian point of view. Now the border between Russia and Finland is a border between Russia and the European Union. This means that both political and economic links between Finland and Russia are on a different level than before.
Trade between Finland and Russia has progressed well within a the last few years. It is traditional in its structure. Finnish exports comprise industrial goods, consumer goods, beer and bread. Imports from Russia include oil, gas, metals, coal, and wood. Finland is also a bridge between Western Europe and Russia: goods are exported to Russia via Finnish ports.
Hence Finland's relationship with Russia is a positive one - although there is still the unresolved problem of imports of raw timber from Russia.
However, to secure its security policy, Finland is relying exclusively on its own strength. National defence leans on conscription, which sets Finland apart from other EU members. The focus of defence policy is on the "defence of our own territory". National defence has extensive and strong support. The will of the citizenry to defend the country is a significant factor that has not been spurred on from above - it springs from the experiences of the past, on the basis of victories and defeats. About 90 per cent of the nation say that they trust the Defence Forces.
The second task of the Defence Forces is to take part in international crisis management forces. From 1956 Finnish troops have taken part in peacekeeping operations in different parts of the world - initially after being invited by the UN, and now primarily in connection with NATO and the European Union. During a six-month period in the present year, Finland took part in the so-called Nordic battle group, whose leading nation was Sweden, and whose other members were Norway and Estonia.
Next year Finland will take part in a group that will be led by Germany and whose second member is The Netherlands. A Finnish contingent has already operated in Lebanon, from where it is coming back home, and also in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Another Finnish unit will possibly be sent to Africa and the border regions of Sudan.
The new international action is connected with Finland's cooperation with Sweden. Sweden's present government is ready to take part in international forces led by NATO known as the NATO Response Force (NRF). The Swedes hope that Finland would participate along with Sweden in NATO cooperation.
The NRF decision can be approved already in November, or then in connection with defence policy decisions next year. The decision would be a significant step forward in cooperation between Finland and Sweden. And one step at a time, Finland could be joining NATO.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 2.9.2007
Preparations for Finnish security and defence policy have been launched, so that in the autumn of next year it would be possible to present a report to Parliament. It is customary for this significant document to be published at four-year intervals.
However, nowadays four years is a period of time in which many important international changes can take place, and those who prepare the defence policy report should represent a new spirit - at least this is what is expected. Therefore, a group of experts is being given the task to start pondering during the autumn whether or not Finland will join NATO, or if Finland will continue to remain outside of it. What would the advantages be of NATO membership, and what are the drawbacks?
Naturally I do not mean that joining NATO will be accepted already now. The President and some of the country's politicians are known to be opposed to NATO, and a majority of the people reject joining NATO because it is an organisation led by the United States, and the United States has - through the unfortunate situation in Iraq - lost the confidence of many Europeans.
But the world is changing, and significantly so. At the end of next year a new President will be elected in Washington. It will most probably be the nominee of the Democrat Party, who will create a new foreign policy. In Europe, France's newly-elected President Nicolas Sarkozy has conspicuously strengthened relations with the United States, and is seeking to support US actions in Iraq.
Russia's leaders, on the other hand, have advertised Russia's rise to great-power status once again. In his speeches, President Vladimir Putin has emphasised his country's military strength, and the quality of its weaponry. He has also taken sharp stands on international situations.
Even the North Pole has been declared as belonging to Russia. There are attempts to force the former Soviet republics - Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Georgia - to acquiesce to Russian power. The Russian Putin-youth organisation Nashi is expanding with each successive year. Putin has also promoted a modern history book for schoolchildren, in which even Stalin is presented as a respectworthy statesman.
So what is Russia's future right now? The question was put to a Russian lecturer at an international conference. After thinking for a while the answer came "everything will go well as long as Putin remains President and the price of oil stays high..." Putin has overwhelming public support - perhaps he might be called on to continue as President anyway.
Finland's relationship with Russia has naturally changed significantly from the relationship that Helsinki had with Moscow under the Soviet Union. When the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance was in force, Finland was an area of strategic interest from the Russian point of view. Now the border between Russia and Finland is a border between Russia and the European Union. This means that both political and economic links between Finland and Russia are on a different level than before.
Trade between Finland and Russia has progressed well within a the last few years. It is traditional in its structure. Finnish exports comprise industrial goods, consumer goods, beer and bread. Imports from Russia include oil, gas, metals, coal, and wood. Finland is also a bridge between Western Europe and Russia: goods are exported to Russia via Finnish ports.
Hence Finland's relationship with Russia is a positive one - although there is still the unresolved problem of imports of raw timber from Russia.
However, to secure its security policy, Finland is relying exclusively on its own strength. National defence leans on conscription, which sets Finland apart from other EU members. The focus of defence policy is on the "defence of our own territory". National defence has extensive and strong support. The will of the citizenry to defend the country is a significant factor that has not been spurred on from above - it springs from the experiences of the past, on the basis of victories and defeats. About 90 per cent of the nation say that they trust the Defence Forces.
The second task of the Defence Forces is to take part in international crisis management forces. From 1956 Finnish troops have taken part in peacekeeping operations in different parts of the world - initially after being invited by the UN, and now primarily in connection with NATO and the European Union. During a six-month period in the present year, Finland took part in the so-called Nordic battle group, whose leading nation was Sweden, and whose other members were Norway and Estonia.
Next year Finland will take part in a group that will be led by Germany and whose second member is The Netherlands. A Finnish contingent has already operated in Lebanon, from where it is coming back home, and also in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Another Finnish unit will possibly be sent to Africa and the border regions of Sudan.
The new international action is connected with Finland's cooperation with Sweden. Sweden's present government is ready to take part in international forces led by NATO known as the NATO Response Force (NRF). The Swedes hope that Finland would participate along with Sweden in NATO cooperation.
The NRF decision can be approved already in November, or then in connection with defence policy decisions next year. The decision would be a significant step forward in cooperation between Finland and Sweden. And one step at a time, Finland could be joining NATO.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 2.9.2007
Helsingin Sanomat