The Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin (SDP) met with a question-and-answer session of political journalists on Wednesday to describe the current situation in Ukraine "extremely worrying".
He told reporters that new EU sanctions against Russia are coming and loopholes in existing sanctions are being looked at. In the coming months, the economic impact of the sanctions will hit Russia with full force, he added.
Marin will travel to Paris on Thursday for an informal, two-day meeting of EU leaders focusing on the situation in Ukraine. Strengthening the EU’s defense capabilities and reducing energy dependence are expected to be on the agenda.
"Personally, I consider it very important that the whole of the EU be able to break away from Russia’s fossil energy as soon as possible." Marin stated.
Seek consensus from NATO
The Prime Minister was asked whether Finland’s position on NATO membership would become clearer in the coming weeks when a recent government foreign and security policy report was presented to Parliament.
"Personally, I think it is very important that we have the opportunity to discuss this [security] also as a whole," Marin replied.
He added that it was important to give parties the opportunity to form their own position.
Marin said that now is to build a national consensus, a vision also on NATO issues. The debate will be seen this spring, but he did not want to predict when the decision will be made. The Prime Minister noted that there has been no formal debate on NATO’s demands for the referendum so far.
Asked about Russia’s reactions to a possible NATO request, Marin emphasized that Finland would make its decisions independently. Regardless of the decision, the impact will be widely assessed.
Impact on budget negotiations
The war in Ukraine is also reflected in the government’s spring budget talks.
There is an urgent task before the government and parliament on issues related to economic recovery and security of supply, Marin pointed out.
However, he reiterated that Finland is ready to increase defense spending.
Source: The Nordic Page