Summary:
Turun Sanomat has reported that President of Finland Sauli Niinistö will take part in the European presidents’ meeting of the Arraiolos Group in Latvia on 13–14 September 2018.

The two-day event is hosted by Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis and is held in the Rundāle Palace and Riga Castle.

Presidents of 13 EU countries are participating in the meeting. The program also includes bilateral meetings.

Media:  Turun Sanomat
Date: 7.9.2018
Journalist: Matti Matikainen
Main source:

Summary:
Ilta-Sanomat writes in a comment that cracks in transatlantic relations inevitably change Europe’s security situation. This is why Finland must stay alert when it comes to the European Union’s defence projects.

Presidents Trump and Putin have room for powerful manoeuvres as the EU is in internal disarray and has lost its voice in world politics. In this sense, it is positive that the EU is becoming more active in defence.

When President Niinistö used to speak of EU defence as an alternative to NATO, many people laughed. Now it is not laughable anymore – EU defence may be the only alternative.

Media:  Ilta-Sanomat
Date: 9.7.2018
Journalist: Timo Paunonen
Main source: n/a

Summary:
According to President Sauli Niinistö, the dinner of the NATO leaders was a much happier affair than the horror scenarios had been suggesting. Mr Niinistö said he was quite optimistic about the prospects. There was no talk of NATO dissolving, and the discussion actually suggested the opposite.

Mr Niinistö said that President Donald Trump spoke extensively about the relations with North Korea, and otherwise followed the debate closely. Mr Trump did not mention Russia. He also did not tell NATO partners about his expectations regarding his upcoming summit with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, since no one asked him, Mr Niinistö said.

He stressed that this was not a preparatory meeting for the Helsinki summit, but confirmed that he had briefly talked with Mr Trump about Finland. Mr Trump’s relationship with Russia has remained a mystery, which is why a lot of expectations have been put on the meeting with Mr Putin.

Russia was one of the three themes discussed at the summit. NATO’s attitude towards Russia has been on two tracks in recent years: dialogue had been maintained, but also fears. According to Niinistö, the debate oriented in this direction.

Media:  Turun Sanomat
Date: 12.7.2018
Journalist: Anniina Luotonen
Main source:

Summary:
President Sauli Niinistö talked about the NATO summit that began Wednesday. He said the atmosphere at the start of the summit was encouraging.

A common communique has been adopted, which was the purpose of the first meeting. It was unanimously accepted in its original form, including the 4 x 30 principle, Iraqi education, and the important principle for Finland to keep the doors of NATO open. All these have been confirmed, President Niinistö told Finnish journalists in Brussels.

He noted that « kind transatlantic words » have been exchanged.

When asked about what parts in the summit communiqué were most relevant to Finland, he noted the enlargement of the defence. He thinks it is quite important that the open doors principle was clearly confirmed.

The debate on the level of defense budget apparently avoided significantly higher percentages of NATO’s present 2% GDP target. Mr Niinistö did not want to dramatize the situation and reminded that various figures had been suggested in the past too.

The consensus among the heads of Ssate and NATO on the key lines of the defense cooperation was not clear in all cases. The insecurity was particularly influenced by the dissatisfaction expressed by President Donald Trump with the economic burden sharing of the NATO members.

President Niinistö had bilateral discussions with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and was present at the dinner of the Nato leaders. He also attended the meeting discussing the Afghanistan Resolute Support.

Helsingin Sanomat reports that, according to President Niinistö, NATO sent a united message to Russia from the summit.

Mr Niinistö said that Finland and NATO have a well-developed partnership that they will further develop. Also, Finnish government has reached the position that the country is open to the possibility of applying for NATO membership. He thought that these two facts already added up to quite a lot.

Mr Niinistö said he not support the idea of Finland’s NATO membership « at the moment ». The reason is not in NATO. Finland must very carefully deliberate and strive to maximize the stability in the Baltic region, he justified his position.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat, Verkkouutiset.fi
Date: 12.7.2018
Journalist: Heikki Hakala
Main source:

Summary:
Ilta-Sanomat has interviewed President Sauli Niinistö on the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Helsinki. Mr Niinistö said the United States and Russia must have a dialogue, but they cannot make decisions concerning Europe between the two of them and without Europe.

There is an increased risk of this happening, as the European Union is not united and strong enough in international politics, he assessed. He says it is necessary and inevitable that the Presidents meet, and hopefully the meeting will ease tensions in the world.

The spirit of the upcoming NATO summit will reveal how the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the United States works in practice. According to Niinistö, the transatlantic relationship is important to Europe, not just the NATO countries.

Working on transatlantic relations is also important for Finland. The Finnish security policy is based on independent defence, but Finland is practicing with NATO and with the United States in bilateral terms. Any cracks in NATO will inevitably also be reflected in North Europe and the Baltic region.

In Europe, the construction of the EU’s own defense system is underway. France is establishing an intervention team, which many EU countries have already joined.

Mr Niinistö noted the ongoing defence cooperation debate in Europe, and said that he had started the same debate in Finland 15 years ago, mainly on his own. In France, it has been discussed for decades.

Mr Niinistö was pleased that the EU has become more active in defence issues. The security debate was silent a few years ago. It did not interest the EU because it was easy to say that NATO is taking care of the security.

Yle has emphasized that Mr Niinistö thought that the EU was at this stage not sufficiently strong and united in international politics. This increased the risk that Russia and the United States may try to agree on European issues in bilateral negotiations.

« The US and Russia must hold a bilateral debate, but they cannot intervene in European affairs without Europe. This risk may arise because the EU is not coherent and strong enough a player in international politics, » said Mr Niinistö.

Media:  Ilta-Sanomat, YLE Uutiset
Date: 7.7.2018
Journalist: Timo Paunonen
Main source: President Sauli Niinistö