JEF Finland demands that Finland must promote deeper and broader EU integration. In this era of crises, the Union’s citizens want the EU to do more, but the member states are reluctant to open the treaties. Finland must take the initiative in the Councils and demand the launch of a new treaty process.
A new treaty would enable integration that could strengthen the current institutions, increase cooperation between member states and deepen integration in areas such as defence policy. Thirty years have shown that Finland must not only take part in integration but also actively push it forward.
When Finland joined the European Union in 1995, the world was living through uncertain times. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought, on the one hand, the freedom of independence, but also a new kind of uncertainty. With the lapse of the Finno-Soviet YYA Treaty, Finland seized its opportunity by applying for EU membership. Thirty years later, it can be said that Finland has benefited greatly from its membership: the single market has increased mobility and prosperity, integration with the West has brought security, and the institutions have enabled participation in decision-making.
Opponents of the European Union often pit integration against national independence. As a small, export-driven Nordic country, Finland is dependent on the rest of Europe. Turning its back on Europe would not mean honourable years of independence, but bowing in the opposite direction, towards the east. Alternative history is impossible to prove beyond doubt: a Finland outside the EU would most likely be poorer, less secure and more isolated than it is today.
In recent decades, crises have meant leaps forward for European integration. The euro crisis forced member states to rethink the functioning of the economic and monetary union, and the Covid-19 pandemic strengthened solidarity and the capacity for rapid research cooperation to develop a vaccine. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine spurred the Union to sanction Russia, support Ukraine and strengthen its own defence capabilities. It is clear that the capacity to respond to crises would not be at its current level without supranational competences.
Despite the obvious benefits, discussion in Finland often focuses on the EU’s perceived drawbacks. In the media, the European Union mainly bans and demands, so the benefits gained from the Union receive less attention. Over thirty years, Finland has gained from the EU a key security policy anchor, an important market area and guidance towards stronger work on equality and environmental policy. For ordinary citizens, the Union brings freer movement, safer products and wider opportunities for education and employment. Membership has brought Finland closer to the international community and to the tables where decisions are made.
According to the latest Eurobarometer, citizens’ trust in the Union and its institutions is growing. At the same time, a majority think the EU should do more. Public opinion thus speaks in favour of deeper integration, particularly in strengthening common defence. Among the member states, the citizens’ view has been sidelined, and opening the treaties has hardly ever been considered timely.
Change requires initiative. Thirty years in the EU have established Finland’s place at the negotiating tables – now would be the moment to make use of that place and advance an ever closer Europe.
Further information:
Nea Baarman
President
