Marin stated at a press conference on Wednesday that it is reasonable to let the next prime minister assess the necessity of the position.
“My own thinking is that it is. But in any case it’s very possible that the timing will be pushed back. I don’t think the timetable is particularly important that it was drawn up during this government. This would have been for the next prime minister, not me in particular,” he said quoted saying Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
The parliamentary elections will be held on April 2, 2023.
The Prime Minister’s Office had stated that the decree establishing the position would enter into force in March and the appointment would be made soon after. The proposal is based on an obvious desire to strengthen the prime minister’s role in the field of foreign and security policy.
The proposal has been justified by increasing the security policy tasks related to the future NATO accession.
The agency’s task is to assist the prime minister in managing the government and monitor the implementation of the government program.
According to the Finnish constitution, foreign policy is led by the president in cooperation with the government, and the actual work takes place in joint meetings between the president and the Ministerial Committee for Foreign and Security Policy (TP-Utva).
President Sauli Niinistö told YLE last week that he thinks the current system works very well. His office had previously dismissed the proposal as premature and excessive.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its concern that the establishment of the position could blur the division of responsibilities between the ministries and transfer power from the ministries to the Prime Minister.
Matters related to NATO largely fall under the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. When the NATO membership is ratified, Finland would be represented at the summit meetings of the military alliance by the president.
On Tuesday, the Staff of the Defense Forces considered that the proposal does not sufficiently justify the need for the position and does not take into account possible effects on the leadership structures related to national defense and foreign and security policy.
“The Commander of the Defense Forces acts as a permanent advisor to TP-Utva, in which case the members of the committee have access to the entire military expertise of the Defense Forces,” in his statement. reads According to Helsingin Sanomat. “In general, consulting different experts provides broad-based support for decision-making than appointing a single advisor.”
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page