Summary:
Opposition parties in the Finnish parliament attacked the government’s low development co-operation funding during the parliamentary debate on next year’s budget on 26 September. Opposition MPs made several questions to Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen regarding how the government plans to raise the share of development co-operation funds to the long-term goal of 0.7% of GDP. In next year’s budget the share is 0.38%. Mr Mykkänen could not promise that the government would raise development co-operation funding in the near future to the extent that the goal would be reached. He noted that the Finnish state is spending more money than it is earning also in the near future and only after this development is stopped can any significant increases to development co-operation be made.
Catégorie : Presse Finlandaise
Mykkänen on CETA: Finnish businesses benefit from disappearance of customs duties
Summary:
The CETA free trade agreement between the EU and Canada came into force on 27 September. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen says Finnish businesses benefit from the agreement e.g. through the disappearance of customs duties and the opening up of service markets. Mr Mykkänen is travelling to Canada in October with a trade delegation and he has high expectations for advancing trade between Finland and Canada. He adds that the CETA agreement will create new opportunities for Finnish businesses in e.g. environmental and transport services as well as make investments in Canada easier.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini in New York: « Hopefully a long way from Trump’s racy rhetoric to military action »
Summary:
Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini commented on the UN General Assembly at a press conference and stated that there is plenty of work to do in peace mediation in which Finland has a good reputation and strong demand. Mr. Soini says Finland can profile in mediation because it has traditionally emphasised e.g. peacekeeping and girls’ education. The minister also commented on US President Donald Trump’s speech an views on North Korea and hoped that reason would eventually win. He points out that the issue goes beyond the United States and North Korea because of the security threat to Japan and nuclear weapons in general.
Mykkänen in FT: Making foreign acquisitions more difficult could start a trade war
Summary:
The European Union’s plans to tighten the screening of direct investments from outside the Union will not bring the wanted benefits, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen estimates in an interview with the Financial Times. In a worst case scenario it could lead to a trade war. The objective of the more extensive vetting is to respond to the increase in Chinese investment in the European technology, energy and infrastructure sectors. Mr Mykkänen notes that the initiative is meant to please France and Germany but at the same time it could provoke China, India and the United States.
Minister Mykkänen would allocate EU funding for know-how and security instead of agriculture
Summary:
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen predicts that there will be changes to EU regional and agriculture policy after Brexit. He says it is in the best interests of Finland if Europe develops as a region based on know-how, research, and security, which is why the main focus of EU funding should be on these sectors. He also comments on the Monetary Union by saying that in the EMU structures, there should be a clear sentence ruling out the joint responsibility of debt as well as defining how a member state go bankrupt.
Sauli Niinistö adopted different stance from Trump on three major issues in his UN speech
Summary:
In his speech at the UN general assembly on Wednesday, President Sauli Niinistö adopted a different stance from US President Donald Trump on three major issues: the North Korean nuclear threat, the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal. Mr Niinistö emphasised that, with North Korea, a solution can only be sought through negotiations in which the North Korean regime will have to participate without terms and noted that, as a EU member state, Finland supports sanctions against North Korea and urges others to do the same. Mr Niinistö also supported the Iran nuclear deal as well as the recent negotiations between the US and Russia which he hopes will restart arms control negotiations both in Europe and globally. The President emphasised the need for a rapid implementation of the Paris climate agreement.
Niinistö: Modernising the UN to reflect people’s needs is a good idea
Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö supports the idea of modernising the UN with people’s needs as the starting point. He is, however, aware that it takes more than words to modernise the organisation. Mr Niinistö spoke to reporters in New York and commented also on the international climate agreement and US President Donald Trump’s stance. He mentioned that in his own discussion with Mr Trump he avoided using the word climate change and instead discussed the Arctic and fighting black coal emission which fall under the category of fighting climate change.
Media: 
Aamulehti 
Date: 18.9.2017
Journalist: STT
Main source: President Sauli Niinistö
Soini: Dialogue with North Korea needs to begin
Summary:
Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini says the UN security council needs to begin dialogue with North Korea in one way or another. He hopes China and Russia will use their influence and points out that also the North Korean leader must be able to show to his people that he is negotiating because he is taken seriously as a negotiation partner, not because he is weak. Mr Soini participated in the ministerial conference of the Community of Democracies hosted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington. In his speech he discussed radicalisation and stated that societies need to show resiliency and not give in to terror.