Unimaginable until two months ago, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but now possible, even very likely: Finland is entering a decisive phase this week in terms of its bid to join NATO, with final selection is expected in late June. The Scandinavian government will release a “white paper” on the consequences of the new […]
Tag: Finland
President of Finland: We want to join NATO as soon as possible
Finland wants to join NATO as soon as possible, according to President Sauli Niinisto. A possible request from Helsinki will be strongly supported by Berlin, said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “I am convinced that there is an overwhelming majority in the Finnish parliament in favor of an application for membership,” Niinisto told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, […]
Estonia and Finland are working together to break free from Russian energy
Estonia will stop importing Russian oil and instead lease a liquefied natural gas import terminal with Finland by the autumn, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. “We must stop buying gas from the Putin regime, which is using the money in the war against Ukraine, as soon as possible,” he told a news conference in Tallinn. […]
Moscow summons Finnish ambassador following seizure of Russian art
Russia’s foreign ministry has summoned Finland’s ambassador to Moscow to protest Helsinki’s decision to confiscate works of art belonging to Russian museums. The Finnish customs authorities announced on Wednesday that last weekend they prevented works of art worth about 42 million euros from returning to Russia due to the sanctions imposed by the EU in […]
Finland will increase its defense budget by 40% by 2026
Finland will increase its defense budget by 40% by 2026, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense announced today, while the Scandinavian country is considering the possibility of joining NATO. Under an agreement reached yesterday, Tuesday, by the majority parties, military appropriations will be gradually increased to more than 7 billion euros […]
Finland has seized Russian works of art worth 42 million euros
Finland has seized more than 42m euros worth of works of art en route to Russia and subject to European Union sanctions. In particular, according to Bloomberg, the works of art were in museums in Italy and Japan on loan and were confiscated at the Finnish-Russian border on April 2 and 3. The consignments contained […]
Finland is preparing additional training for wartime troops
Additional training will be provided to the 280,000-strong reserve force in Finland’s wartime, as the government looks to strengthen its defenses. In particular, according to Defense Minister Andy Kaikonen, according to Bloomberg, the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensified the need for additional training, given that the planned program was not observed during the pandemic. As […]
Finland: Fears Russian interference in NATO membership debate
Finland must prepare for Russian interference and hybrid attacks in connection with the country’s NATO bid, its intelligence service said today. “The whole of Finnish society needs to be vigilant about Russian efforts to influence Finland’s decision-making process on NATO,” said the head of the security service (Supo). In its annual report on the threats […]
Finland cuts rail links with Russia
Finland’s national railway operator will suspend flights between Helsinki and St. Petersburg in Russia on Monday, closing one of the last public transport routes to the European Union for the Russians. Following the sanctions in Russia, the VR operator had received instructions from the state that it was no longer suitable to operate the route […]
Finland: Impact of sanctions on Russia greater than when the Soviet Union collapsed
The initial impact of European Union sanctions on Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine has led to a greater reduction in trade between Finland and Russia than when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Finnish customs service said. Customs in the country fell by almost 60% in both imports from Russia and exports from […]