The president of the Nordic country warned that applying for membership in the NATO military alliance would cause a major risk of conflict in Europe.
Sauli Niinisto said that joining Nato was one of the two main alternatives toFinland's current position inside the EU but outside a military alliance. The other option is to deepen defence co-operation with the US and Sweden.
Niinisto told the Financial Times that they are looking at something else than continuing like this. We have to make sure that our stability remains and that we live in a secure environment.
A poll done by Yle last week found that a majority of Finns want to join Nato. For a long time, support was around 20 per cent. 74 per cent of Finns would be in favor of joining Nato if the political leadership backed it.
Niinisto, who as president exercises considerable influence over Finland's foreign policy, said that joining Nato might seem like our worries are over. The major risk at the moment is the situation in Europe.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is making people in the two Nordic nations rethink their security thinking.
A white paper is being prepared by the government on security options. In the coming months, parliament will make a decision on whether to apply for it.
During the second world war, the Soviet Union invaded the EU country of Finland, which has the longest border with Russia at 1,340 km. After the Cold War, it was one of the few European nations that didn't cut defence spending sharply.
There are signs that the Nato debate has progressed in the city of Helsinki. The prime minister of Sweden ruled out a Swedish application to Nato, saying it would cause more trouble in the region.
Niinisto was asked if he supported her comments. That is the beginning. We have to study all of the elements very closely.
The president of the country said that the risk of an escalation in Europe was different to the debate on security solutions. I don't link the risk of escalation to our decision-making.
Niinisto said that defence co-operation with Sweden and the US was a possibility. He said that one alternative is to create it more and more.
He said that in his recent meeting with US president Joe Biden, we got a lot of understanding from Washington.
The tradition of keeping our own defence forces strong has been stressed by the president. Niinisto said that the country could call on up to 280,000 troops.
The EU's mutual defence clause has been tried to make it like Nato's article 5, which promises that an attack on one member state is an attack on all. Few other EU members have been willing to invest in it.
Niinisto called article 42.7 stronger than article 5 in expression, but behind that we don't find much. He said that Germany's recent decision to almost double its defence spending had turned a page in European security and defence discussions.
He said that we see a stronger Europe and a stronger Nato in Europe. We need to take that into account. It takes time and is not an immediate solution.
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