Policy The NATO option will turn 27 in April, and its value will only increase, writes Unto Hämäläinen

From Finland became a member of the European Union in January 1995 and was appointed Prime Minister in April Paavo Lipponen (sd) the five-party purple government. Its program reads: “Finland contributes best to the stable development of Northern Europe in the current conditions by remaining outside the military alliances and maintaining an independent defense.”

The most important words in the sentence were “in the prevailing conditions”. They meant the so-called NATO option. The military alliance was just beginning to expand, and Finland was not aspiring there, but reserved the opportunity to apply for membership if Russia became difficult.

Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO in the spring of 1999. At the same time, Lipponen’s second government was appointed.

In the spring of 2003 Lipponen was pushed aside. A NATO option was also put aside. Prime minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki the (central) red soil government program did not talk about any “prevailing conditions”.

The waste hill was displaced in the summer, and Matti Vanhanen the (central) government copies the predecessor program. However, the NATO option was returned in the government’s security policy report.

NATO expanded to the southern border of Finland. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2004.

Vanhanen convened a four-party bourgeois government in the spring of 2007, and the program said quite directly what had been outlined earlier: and retain the opportunity to apply for NATO membership. ”

The climate in Europe tightened. Russia was involved in the Georgian war in 2008. NATO continued to expand and in 2009 included Albania and Croatia.

Prime minister Jyrki Katainen (kok) formed a six-party government in June 2011.

In addition to the Coalition, the government included the RKP, Christians, the Greens and the entire left. So the program was a compromise of compromises. “Finland is a non-military country and co-operates with NATO and maintains the possibility of applying for NATO membership,” the program said, but promised: “Finland will not prepare to apply for NATO membership during this government.”

The climate in Europe tightened further in the spring of 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea and started a war in eastern Ukraine. The European Union imposed severe sanctions on Russia.

Prime minister Juha Sipilä In the spring of 2015, (Central) convened the Center, the Basic Finns and the Coalition Government. The NATO option was already inherited: “Finland is a non-military country that implements a pragmatic partnership with NATO and maintains the possibility of applying for NATO membership.”

The spring of 2019 was Antti Rinteen (sd) The turn begins as prime minister. The slope was ousted in December and succeeded Sanna Marin (sd).

The red-green government made a nest distinction for the bourgeois government. However, it did not change the same. The NATO option now says: “The basis of Finland’s security and defense policy is to maintain national room for maneuver and choice. This retains the opportunity to apply for NATO membership. ”

In Europe shaking continues. Russia is demanding a guarantee from the West that NATO will not expand to the east.

However, NATO is expanding to include thirty countries. The most recent are Montenegro and Northern Macedonia.

The door is also open to Finland, whose NATO option has retained its value for 27 years.