Elina Valtonen and Antti Häkkänen promise to continue supporting Ukraine. Valtonen would like Ukraine to become an EU member.
The coalition’s candidates for foreign minister and defense minister emphasize that the relationship with the United States will be further strengthened in the future.
The coalition elected him as foreign minister yesterday Elina Valtonen and as Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen. Parliament must first elect a government negotiator Petteri Orpo as prime minister before the president can appoint new ministers.
According to Valtonen, closer relations with the United States is one of the new government’s strategic priorities, more important than perhaps ever before.
According to Valtonen, Finland’s NATO membership opens up new opportunities for foreign trade in technology and the defense industry.
– Also socially and culturally, it is very important in this world that we take care of Euro-transatlantic relations, Valtonen says.
Häkkänen, on the other hand, emphasized the strengthening of bilateral security cooperation with the United States, but also with Britain.
Russia must not be allowed to win the war
The recent ministerial candidates promise that support for Ukraine will continue.
Häkkänen, who will probably become defense minister, describes that supporting Ukraine is a key part of Finland’s security policy. It’s not just any international aid package.
– Ultimately, this is about the fact that the outcome of the war will determine the security order of Europe and Finland for decades. If the war ends with Russia’s victory, the security policy situation will be significantly more harmful for Finland for a long time, says Häkkänen.
– That’s why Ukraine’s victory is an essential part of Finland’s security in the next few years as well.
Foreign minister candidate Valtonen, on the other hand, says that he will work to ensure that one day Ukraine becomes a member of the EU and part of the European security architecture.
How is young people’s trust in society maintained?
According to Häkkänen, the biggest change in the Ministry of Defense compared to the past will be that with NATO membership the ministry will become very international.
He describes the Ministry of Defense as the highest security ministry, whose area of responsibility is also wider society’s safety and security of supply.
In addition, Häkkänen considers it particularly important that the will to defend the country remains high in Finland.
– Young generations must maintain trust in this society and such unity that support for conscription and the will to defend the country remains high, says Häkkänen.
Dependencies on China should be gotten rid of
Valtonen sees China both as an important trading partner, but also as a challenger.
– It is important that in the future we go through our critical dependencies on China even more deeply – both in society and in trade – and we aim to systematically reduce unhealthy dependencies, Valtonen states.
Valtonen was involved in agreeing on EU matters in the government negotiations. Even though the prime minister leads EU policy, Valtonen hopes that Finland’s EU policy will be active: Finland should invest in lobbying, i.e. moving forward issues that are important to it in Brussels.
In the near future, the EU Commission is expected to present a proposal on the sovereignty fund, which would possibly mean the collective debt of the Union. The sovereignty fund aims to make the EU more self-sufficient in energy supply and critical technology.
– We want to promote the fact that in the European Union each member state primarily bears responsibility for its own debts and commitments, Valtonen says.
What thoughts do the new ministers and their policies evoke? The discussion is open until 23:00 on Tuesday.