The threat from the east unites Sweden and Finland – That’s what Stubb said during the state visit – 2024-04-24 05:59:29

The president of the Republic Alexander Stubb said on his first state visit to Sweden that he has never felt as Swedish as he did on his first official state visit to Sweden.

Iltalehti follows the state visit in its entirety in this article.

Stubb said this while speaking at the Swedish Diet on Tuesday.

– The feeling comes, on the other hand, from the warm reception that my spouse and I have received from your majesties and the entire royal family. On the other hand, the feeling comes from the fact that I am speaking to you here at the Swedish Diet – the bastion of democracy.

According to Stubb, the deeper feeling is related to the shared identity of Finland and Sweden.

– We are mostly the same, sometimes maybe a little different, but always inseparable. Today – more than ever – we consider one. Sweden’s issue is ours. Finland’s business is yours.

Stubb spoke at the Diet. Jani Korpela

The threat from the east unites

Stubb told the Parliament about his own close relationship with Sweden.

– My second mother tongue is Swedish, or as many here say, Moomin Swedish. I went to half of my schools in Swedish. I grew up in the company of Pippi Longstocking, Vaahteramäki Eemel and My Brother Leijonamiele. On Saturday I saw Ronja Ryövärintytäre at Svenska Teatern in Helsinki.

Stubb continued that he has been listening since he was young Eva Dahlgrenia, Tomas Lediniä and Ulf Lundelia.

– During the war, my father spent half a year in a hospital here in Stockholm. Ruosin ships and Gröna Lund belong to my first memories. My aunt and cousin live in Skåne. At my wedding, the bestman was my friend who lives in Stockholm.

With this, Stubb wanted to convey that Sweden has always been the dearest neighbor to Finns.

According to Stubb, part of the closeness between Finland and Sweden is also due to a common perception of security.

– The threat from the east is one of the factors that unite us. Diplomat and political scientist Krister Wahlbäck is in his book Giant’s Breath described how our mostly converging but sometimes diverging paths have always met in response to the danger from the east.

The EU was security for Finland

According to Stubb, the realities during the Cold War led Finland and Sweden to make different choices. After the Cold War, Sweden took the reins and was the first to apply for EU membership.

– “Sour, said the fox about the rowan berries”, but we followed you and soon submitted our own application.

According to Stubb, the EU was a security policy issue for Finland, although not everyone said it out loud. According to Stubb, membership in Sweden was about identity and also about finances.

Now, when the EU also has to face protectionist trends, according to Stubb, it is important that Finland and Sweden cooperate for a functioning internal market, open competition and a strong defense industry.

– The defense industry must also be able to fully utilize the advantages of the internal market. In this time of scientific and technological change, we can do a lot together, Stubb said.

Finland led to NATO

According to Stubb, many in Sweden have analyzed that in the NATO process Finland was in the driver’s seat.

– The Finnish people convinced their foreign policy leadership that it was time to apply for NATO membership. The wait-and-see public opinion had the latent ability to reassess the situation and change overnight into determined pragmatism dictated by the instinct of self-preservation.

Stubb said that it cannot be overemphasized how important it was that Finland and Sweden took the NATO step together. And not how important it was to keep each other up to date, day and night and at all levels.

– For us, the step towards NATO membership was again based on security policy assessments or even real politics.

For Sweden, according to Stubb, it was also a question of security, but the process largely also concerned Sweden’s identity policy.

– Giving up the policy of neutrality and then non-alignment after more than 200 years was a big step that required leadership and courage.

Shared responsibility for defense

According to Stubb, the common path between Finland and Sweden does not end with NATO membership, but the countries must continue to coordinate their national defenses with NATO and with each other.

– Our joint responsibility for NATO’s defense in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic region and the Russian border area is great. Our joint capabilities in the air, at sea and on land are an integral part of NATO’s deterrence. Our national capabilities, combined with NATO and EU membership and bilateral DCA agreements with the US, historically give us more security than anything before.

According to Stubb, we now live in a new world and with new realities. According to him, it means that sometimes we have to cooperate with countries that do not share our values.

Role in promoting peace

Stubb reminds that as a result of Finland’s membership, NATO’s border with Russia doubled.

– It is for this reason that Finland must aim at the institutional core of NATO. We want to be there together with Sweden.

According to Stubb, the rhetoric seems to have become more and more belligerent in recent years.

– Our screens are filled with wars in Europe and the Middle East. But this rhetoric easily undermines the sense of security and faith in the future, especially among the younger generations.

Stubb thinks the best way to avoid war is to talk less and prepare more.

– Finland and Sweden play an important role in promoting peace. This sounds paradoxical, but that is exactly why we want a strong military and why we became members of NATO.

The UN needs to be reformed

Stubb said that Finland’s foreign and security policy is based on value-based realism and the starting point is a strong alliance relationship in the European Union and NATO.

– At the same time, we are convinced that the international system and peace are still achievable if the UN is reformed and strengthened. Currently, veto power in the UN Security Council means that the chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

According to Stubb, the cornerstone of Finland’s foreign policy is built on Western values, such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

– Realism in our security policy means, among other things, maintaining a strong defense – now as part of the alliance.

Stubb added that it is also realism to understand that major global challenges cannot be solved only with countries that share our opinion.