Summary:

Helsingin Sanomat reports that the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö strongly criticised the state of the European Union in his speech at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Missions. He said that the EU’s problem is mostly political as decision-making and implementation were both ineffective. There is room for improvement, he finds. President Niinistö added that the Union should also be able to outcome difficult times. Moreover, he pointed that the lack of trust in European leaders is a genuine risk if it continued to grow. Mr Niinistö said that the EU should focus on the basics and take care of the citizens’ daily lives and security. Foreign Minister Timo Soini agreed with President Niinistö’s criticism.

Summary:

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini estimates in Aamulehti that the personnel of the European Union will face cooperation negotiations in the next few years after the UK stops paying for its EU membership. « Other countries will not pay for the UK’s payments, » he points out. Once the UK leaves, the EU needs to cut its budget and lay off staff, the Minister estimates. Another issue is the use of money in the EU. Minister Soini thinks that the Union needs major reforms if it wants to remain. « It means less and better EU. » He does not support deeper integration. What comes to Finland’s EU exit referendum, Minister Soini has not decided his opinion yet, but he says that this government will not organise a vote on it.

Summary:

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini comments on his visit to the UK. It has been widely criticised. According to him, other ministers have met their interest groups around the world and it is completely normal. Mr Soini states that he has done nothing that should be criticised. He is happy that Finland and the Finns party has such an excellent relationship with the UK. The fuss started after Mr Soini announced that he will visit the UK and meet both representatives of the Brexit and Bremain camps.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat

Date: 1.7.2016

Journalist: Jaana Savolainen, Juho-Pekka Pekonen

Summary:

Editorial in Maaseudun Tulevaisuus discussed the President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s visit to Finland. While Sweden criticized Finland before the visit, President of Finland Sauli Niinistö managed to strengthen Finland’s position as a mediator between Russia and the West by contacting with the EU’s leading countries and Ukraine prior to the visit. Niinistö also emphasized to Putin that Finland was involved in setting sanctions on Russia instead of just law-abidingly following them. Reducing the sanctions or at least increasing clarity is important, because Russia is an important export partner for Finland.

Media:  Maaseudun Tulevaisuus

Date: 4.7.2016

Journalist: –

Summary:

Representatives of all parties in the Finnish government estimate that the main reason for President Sauli Niinistö’s popularity is his actions related to the foreign politics. He is thanked, for example, for taking care of foreign policy matters responsibly and for emphasising the importance of the relationship with Russia. HS published a questionnaire regarding the subject on Sunday and according to it, 89 per cent think that President Niinistö has succeeded either quite or very well in his job. He has been popular all the time during his presidency but it seems to reach same levels with President Tarja Halonen’s peak times now.