It would be a historic move, as Finland (which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia) is not currently a militarily ally, but the country has a growing desire to be part of the Atlantic Alliance after invading Ukraine. And Sweden could also follow the Helsinki example
FROM THE CORRESPONDENT
BERLIN the story of a small nation under military attack from a much larger and more powerful neighboring country. A war with a predictable outcome, however, in which a fierce and courageous resistance to the invaders inflicts them heavy casualties and keeps them at bay for a whole year. In the end, however, the small state defeated the moral victor, even if it was forced to give up 10% of its territory and pay the high price of 400,000 deportees and 70,000 dead.
Not in 2022, but in 1939/40. And not Ukraine, but Finland. Only the aggressor is the same: Russia, then the Soviet Union.
More than eighty years later, the memory of that tragic and heroic experience is alive and well in the consciences of Finland’s people and leaders as Vladimir Putin’s army wreaks havoc on the former sister nation but struggles to subdue it.
There is even a word in the Finnish vocabulary, sisu, that describes the courage and ability to resist inherent in the national character of the Land of Lakes.
In no other nation as in Finland does the war in Ukraine raise an existential question and bring about a decisive change in its security doctrine.
A member of the European Union since 1995, the Nordic country, which shares a 1,340kilometer land border with the Russian Federation, no longer wanted to be neutral like it was during the Cold War, when it stood outside the blockades and enjoyed goodneighborly relations with the USSR, but not militarily allied.
Now even that subtle distinction will end: Finland is knocking on NATO’s doors, and its entry into the Atlantic Alliance could be a matter of months.
The situation has changed radically says the President of the Republic, Sauli Niinisto, to whom the Finnish Constitution has entrusted leadership of foreign policy together with the government according to the latest polls, more than 60% of my compatriots are in favor of joining NATO.
Before Easter, the Helsinki Parliament will present a white paper assessing the pros and cons of membership. But Niinisto, the country’s most popular politician, predicts there will be a massive parliamentary majority in favor and the decision by Sanna Marin’s centreleft executive could come ahead of June’s NATO summit in Madrid.
It would be a historic and irreversible decision, says the head of state. And it would also go down very well with the allies: If you decide to join, I think you will be welcomed by all partners, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday during a visit to Helsinki.
Finland, together with Sweden, has been participating in allied military exercises as observers for years. In recent weeks, Stockholm and Helsinki have for the first time deployed a joint brigade of over 2,200 soldiers to practice cold response.
For years, the proportion of proNato Finns had never exceeded 30%. During the Cold War and beyond, the pillar of Finland’s security policy was not to provoke its unwieldy Russian neighbor through NATO integration.
It was the socalled Finnization, a term that the Finns themselves have always found negative because it is often associated with the idea of almost tolerating Moscow.
Considering its own history, neither before nor after the Cold War did Finland neglect its national defense and invest considerable sums. We never abolished conscription, and if we mobilize the army, we have 300,000 men and women, that’s as many as Germany, which is 15 times our size, Niinisto told a group of German journalists recently.
In December, Helsinki bought 64 American F35 fighter jets for 10 billion euros, the highest technology on the market. And last week the government increased funds for arms purchases by a further 2.2 billion euros.
The basis of goodneighborly relations with Moscow has grown by leaps and bounds overnight explains Mika Altola of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs and the days when NATO membership was seen as a loss of national identity are over. Today there is a new understanding: Finland must be part of the collective containment of Russia.
If Finland took the plunge into NATO, it probably wouldn’t be alone.
His example could actually lead Sweden to break the lag, where the Atlantic perspective is the subject of intense debate these weeks. But the Stockholm election will be weighed down by a onevote campaign in the autumn, making the centreleft government more cautious and waitandsee.
The turning point, however, was the poll last February, a few days after the start of the conflict, when for the first time 41% were in favor of joining NATO, while 35% were against. Sweden also announced an increase in military spending to 2% of GDP, up from 1.35% initially planned, and has started supplying arms to Ukraine.
An interesting development in Sweden in recent months is the record number of civilian enrollments in the Territorial Defense Service, which includes six months of training in the army: 10,000 women volunteered in the week after Russia invaded Ukraine and males a total of 20,000 for the whole of 2021.
April 10, 2022 (Change April 10, 2022 | 13:36)
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