EU | Researcher: Connections with Russia influenced the change of the EU group of basic Finns

of basic Finns The timing of changing the EU group is related to the Finnish government negotiations, in which the party may be involved.

This is what the academy researcher thinks Timo Miettinen From the Center for European Studies at the University of Helsinki.

“The group change means a transition to a more moderate reference group,” says Miettinen.

Fundamental Finns switch back to the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) in the European Parliament. The matter was decided by the party government of the Basic Finns.

Basic Finns has been in the ECR group before in the 2014–2019 European Parliament period. In 2019, the party moved to a new group of right-wing populist and EU-critical representatives called Identity and Democracy (ID).

The MEPs of the Basic Finns are Laura Huhtasaari and Teuvo Hakkarainen.

ECR has a moderate and reformist profile, says Miettinen. The group includes, for example, the Swedish Democrats.

The ID group, on the other hand, includes well-known ultra-nationalist parties, such as the French National Alliance, which was led by a former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. The group also includes the Italian Lega and the German AfD.

Another key reason is related to the Russian connections of the parties of the ID group, says Miettinen.

The parties of the ID group have both a moderate attitude towards Russia’s war of aggression and direct connections to Russia and to Vladimir Putin. For example, the head of Lega Matteo Salvini has previously repeatedly appeared in a Putin t-shirt and loudly opposed sanctions against Russia.

“Basic Finns strives to stand out from such a reference group in terms of security policy,” says Miettinen.

The matter is also stated indirectly in the decision of the party board.

“In the EU Parliament, fundamental Finns must belong to a group whose member parties are united by the uncompromising defense of Western civilization and the European security architecture,” the party argues.

Basic Finns has therefore previously belonged to the ECR group, to which it is now switching back. Is it to be expected that the party will have difficulties adapting to the policies of the old group?

Miettinen no sign such a thought.

“It is good to remember the context in which the ID group was formed. It was after the 2019 European elections, when EU-critical parties wanted to increase their support and found a new group. ID was the best of the companies.”

Already at that time, the ties and ways of thinking related to Russia within the ID group were of course known, says Miettinen.

“But the Russian war of aggression has changed Europe, and this reference group now looks different. There are parties that do not regard Russia with the same condemnation as basic Finns.”