Summary:

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini believes that Finland will do fine despite Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States and that the country should continue current foreign and security policies. Former Finnish PM Alexander Stubb wrote earlier in a column in the Financial Times that he was worried Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would « neutralise » Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO option and create a security policy vacuum in Northern Europe. Mr Soini says that he does not believe this scenario and that he is confident that the US, NATO and the EU all understand how important good transatlantic relations are.

Summary:

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen talks to Yle about what kind of consequences Donald Trump’s presidency could have on the country’s climate policy. Mr Trump, for example, promised earlier to cut climate subsidies by billions and to increase oil and gas production in the US. Minister Mykkänen has been worried about the development. However, he believes that Mr Trump also wants to get less dependent on oil from Arabic countries. Mr Mykkänen is most worried about the US turning to the opposite direction as the country’s climate policy development has been very positive in recent years. He also considers China’s and India’s current situation comforting when comparing to what it was 15 years ago.

Summary:

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini thinks that the EU membership negotiations must be continued with Turkey even though the general atmosphere in the country is against the Union. Minister Soini talked with Turkey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu on the phone on Monday. Minister Soini tells that Minister Cavusoglu told him directly that Turkey is not interested in the EU or what it says. However, Minister Soini thinks that the membership negotiations must be continued as they are the only way to influence Turkey. According to him, the EU is dependent on Turkey’s help when it comes to managing the refugee crisis as well as problems in Syria and Iraq.

Summary:

President Sauli Niinistö supports President of the European Council Donald Tusk’s idea of a strong police unit against terrorism on an EU level. President Niinistö visited Brussels just before the meeting of EU’s ministers for foreign affairs where the EU’s security level was discussed. He describes Finland’s foreign and security political situation as ‘unchanged’. President Niinistö strongly supports strengthening the Union’s joint security policy but considers talks about the EU’s joint army misleading. No one means a completely new army but a combination of existing resources and how they could be used together, he adds.

Media:  Kauppalehti 

Summary:

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini believes that the US presidential election is reflected in the situation in Syria. Russia’s power politics in Syria continue as all attention in the United States is on the coming election. Mr Soini hopes that the new president will put Syria back on the foreign policy agenda. He does not believe that a more active United States would increase confrontation with Russia.

Media:  YLE Uutiset

Date: 29.10.2016

Journalist: Johanna Östman

Main source: Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini

Summary:

According to President Sauli Niinistö, Finland should discuss the possibility of restricting dual nationality at least to some nationalities. There are several countries in Europe that grant dual nationality only to people from countries that also grant dual nationality. Mr Niinistö discussed the matter at a press conference with Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis. Latvia does not grant dual nationality to Russian nationals because Russia does not consider them lawful. According to Mr Niinistö, people with dual nationality have ties to two countries and this should be discussed in Finland.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat (E-edition) 

Date: 1.11.2016

Journalist: Jussi Niemeläinen

Summary:

Security in the Baltic Sea region was the main topic during Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis’s visit with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki on Tuesday. Mr Niinistö said in a press conference that the presidents acknowledged the confounding situation we have ended up in during the past few years as the whole landscape has transformed. Mr Niinistö referred to signs of war in Europe and its surroundings and the increasing tension in the Baltic Sea.

Media:  Helsingin Sanomat

Date: 2.11.2016

Journalist: Jussi Niemeläinen

Main source: President Sauli Niinistö, President Raimonds Vējonis

Summary:

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini is hopeful that repatriation of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan will happen more smoothly in the future. Finland and Afghanistan signed an agreement at the beginning of October that should make also forcible repatriation easier, but Mr Soini hopes that the majority of repatriations will be voluntary also in the future. The Finnish Immigration Service outlined earlier this year that the security situation in Afghanistan had improved. Mr Soini, who visited the country this week, says that Finland’s estimation is accurate but points out that the situation is monitored and the estimation can be updated if necessary. Finland supports the idea that the EU should sign an agreement with Afghanistan that tackles the root causes of migration, like the agreements signed with African nations.