Editorial | Niinistö teaches the EU to prepare for the Cossack threat

President Sauli Niinistö starts writing a report for the EU on crisis preparedness. The matter was reported on Wednesday at a joint press conference between Niinistö and the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The initiative to draw up the EU's so-called emergency union strategy was taken by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (Kok) in his speech last week in the EU Parliament, but judging by the pace of progress, the matter must have already been well prepared.

Niinistö has been asking for a long time what Europe is ready to do for common security. The common defense policy takes place largely through NATO, but the policy of the United States now creates its own uncertainty. In addition, the EU has been seeking its own role alongside NATO for a long time. The war in Ukraine has shown that there is enough to do, because modern war is fought on many fronts, from trade sanctions to influencing information.

Geography has taught Finland what to expect from Russia. President Niinistö has summed up these teachings in the statement: “Cossack takes what is badly held.” In his report, President Niinistö begins to outline how the EU could make use of Finland's lessons. The report, prepared in cooperation with the EU's foreign policy representative Josep Borrell, should be completed by autumn so that the new commission starting after the EU elections can use it in its program.

Finland has maintained its own defense capability, but also built a comprehensive national defense, which includes security of supply as well as spiritual national defense that maintains the will to defend the country. Part of sustainability is technical solutions such as backup warehouses and population shelters, but at least as important is the value base of society: the fact that citizens feel that society is theirs and worth defending. That's the kind of we-spirit that the EU needs now.

The editorials are HS's positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS's editorial department, and they reflect the journal principle line.

Correction on March 20 at 10:21 p.m.: Niinistö's EU mission was reported on Wednesday, not Thursday as was erroneously written in the story at first.