The current system is estimated to work well, and it is based on a clear division of work and responsibilities and smooth and reliable cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Therefore, the agency does not consider it necessary or appropriate to establish a new unit in the prime minister’s office under the guise of NATO membership,” the statement said.
The division of responsibilities related to the membership of the defense alliance is regulated by the regulations, which must be followed in order to avoid “overlaps and unnecessary excessive coordination in preparation”. The agency concluded that the proposal is both premature and overblown and likely based on a “false assumption” of a significant and continuing increase in NATO-related issues requiring political guidance.
President Niinistö commented on the statement on YLE A-talk on Thursday.
“We issued a statement because one was requested,” he said. “I have understood from these professional ministries that there is hardly any need [the role]. And if I think about my own experiences, I have to say that this current system works very well.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also rejected the proposal, estimating that it could blur the division of responsibilities and transfer power from the ministries to the prime minister’s office.
The Prime Minister’s Office has claimed that the security policy advisor and the unit are obliged to support the Prime Minister in security policy issues in accordance with the requirements set by NATO membership. According to its policy, the position should be filled immediately this spring, so that the advisor will be up to the task when the next prime minister takes office.
The proposal has been interpreted as an attempt to strengthen the prime minister’s role in foreign and security policy.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page