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Last updated: September 17, 2014 4:40 pm
Pääministeri Alex Stubbia syyteteään ‘Suomettumis’ politiikasta
Suomi on laittamassa Venäjän edut omien arvojensa edelle ulkopolitiikassaan ja palaamassa “suomettumisen” aikaan, sanoo Suomen ympäristöministeri.
Ministeri Ville Niinistö on myös vihreiden puheenjohtaja ja kannattaa sitä että hänen puolueensa jättää viiden puolueen koalition, jos - kuten siltä näyttää - hallitus päättää hyväksyä Venäjän rakentaman ydinreaktorin torstaina.
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IN Europe
Se voisi johtaa Suomen hallituksen kaatumiseen ja ennenaikaisiin vaaleihin, kuukausia aiemmin kuin nykyisen suunnitelman mukaan, pitää vaalit ensi huhtikuussa.
Niinistö kertoi Financial Timesille, että se lisäisi Suomen riippuvuutta Venäjän energiasta jos Suomi rakentaa voimalan reaktorin Rosatomin kanssa, joka on Venäjän valtion omistaman ydinvoimayhtiö ja omistaa nyt 34 prosentin osuuden Suomalaisesta ydinvoimayhtiöstä.
“Tässä on suomettumisen tunnetta. Annamme venäläisille vipuvoimaa jota he ovat etsimässä, länttä ja EU markkinoita varten. Tämä asettaa meidät erittäin haavoittuvaan asemaan. . . Suoraan sanoen se on hyvin hämmentävää, että muun hallituksen mielestä tämä on OK, ” hän lisäsi.
Fennovoiman reaktori on uusin päänsärky Suomen uudelle pääministerille, Alexander Stubbille, joka kamppailee talouden laman kanssa, joka monien mielestä on pahempi kuin 1990-luvun lama.
Stubb sai vastaansa kritiikkiä aiemmin tässä kuussa, kun Suomi myöhästyi uusia tiukkojen EU-pakotteiden toimeenpanossa Venäjää vastaan, ja maan ulkoministeri vastusti niiden hyväksymistä kokonaan.
Suomen pääministeri sanoi maanantaina että hallitus on "Erittäin todennäköisesti" hyväksymässä reaktorin ja selviäisi vihreiden hallituksesta lähdöstä. "On selvää, että hallitus on edelleen toimiva," hän sanoi. "Me muut neljä osapuolta olemme jo keskustelleet mahdollisuudesta, että voi olla vaikeaa saada enemmistöä tulevaisuudessa. "
Vihreät asettivat kolme vuotta sitten koalitioon liittymisen ehdoksi sen että uusia ydinreaktoreita ei hyväksyä, koska ne haluavat energiaa joka on peräisin uusiutuvista lähteistä.
Niinistö oli aikaisemmin Suomen ulkopolitiikan tutkija joka tutki "Suomettumista", ennen tuloaan vihreiden johtajaksi. Hän varoitti, että historia on vaarassa toistaa itseään. "Olemme ajamassa itseämme tilanteeseen jossa ulkopolitiikkaamme ei johdeta arvojemme mukaan vaan sillä periaatteella että yritämme parhaamme mukaan tehdä niin kuin venäläiset haluavat. . . Tämä vie meidät takaisin tilanteeseen, joka vallitsi 1970 luvulla. "
Suomettuminen on kiistanalainen käsite jossa vahvempi maa – eli Neuvostoliitto 1970 luvulla – vaikuttaa heikomman naapurinsa politiikkaan. Eräät kuten Henry Kissinger ovat viitanneet Suomeen esimerkkinä Ukrainalle suhtautumistavassa Venäjään muiden keskustelijoiden kauhuksi.
Ministeri Niinistö varoitti, että hanke lisäisi Suomen energiariippuvuutta Venäjästä koska Suomi nyt jo tuo kaiken kaasunsa itäiseltä naapuriltaan
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If business can't be won in fair competition than politics come in place! That is what is going on with Rosatom EU projects lately.
So let me get this right. The Greens are opposed to any nuclear power stations. So having lost the argument on nuclear power, they now try to jump on the bandwagon of anti-Russian sentiment to block it via the backdoor. Hmmm .... wonder if they'd be reassured if the govt instead let the French build the nuclear power stations, somehow I think not!
Note to FT: given all the articles about European dependence on Russian energy, where are the articles on the dangers of European dependence on American military protection?
@AllergicToBS And the Greens may be will support Shale gas projects instead? They are really Green.. the like the Green currency!
Russia is still one of the BRICS, right? Or was it 'expelled' from that group too? Of course if the growth in EU is about 0.8 %, it's logical to do business with a faster growing neighbour.
It's no more - or less - stupid than us giving the Chinese access to our nuclear programme. Governments are incapable of thinking long-term.
@trawler Extremely right to the point! Instead of creating alliance with Russia to create a block to stand and deal with growing China we put Russia in the position to unite with China and we open the EU market for China newly developing Nuclear power technology! Just like in 80's US finance and armed the jihadists in Afghanistan ... but then..
Typical Finns, put their own selfish interests above all others.
@Kingstown Dear Mr Kingston, your comment seems a bit over blown as all countries typically try to defend their interests. We certinly do not want to repeat history when we had to defend our interests on our own in 1939. Russian lost one million men then when they tried to invade Finland. We need extensive economic ties between the countries. This is the only way to secure peace. Nobody has so far suggested that one should stop buying energy from Russia so far. Why should we? Isolated Russia is the most unwanted scenario.
@Kingstown I agree with Kingston. I am a Finnish, and I am ashamed because of the Finnish government politics regarding Russia. This is pure Finlandizationing. The Greens party are the only ones in Finland rising against Russia.
@Kingstown I suppose your remark is ironical. Or then you expect an independent country to put interests of others above its own –behaviour of which you could provide one example country. Maybe yours, eh?
Aggressive russophobia is a specific mental disorder based on wilful self-deception. And it's gone viral.
And I want to remind you and other readers that the EU is an association of sovereign states, NOT our master.
@Olli Valkonen @Kingstown It seems Olli Valkonen confirms doubts about reborn Finlandization. There are a lot of people like Olli in Finland, strongly and openly supporting Russian rotten government.
@Kingstown Unless you work for Westinghouse or coal mine company, how exactly your interest will be hurt by Rosatom building nuclear reactor in Finland?
Finland is 100 % dependant on Russia for gas so the LNG deals are required fast so Estonia and Finland need to get their act together to build a mega terminal to bring in the LNG. Finlandization is a term the Germans coined in the cold war which has stuck.Being between a rock and a hard place with recent history making Finns have to decide between the 2 evils with Hitler and Stalin they have had to make that Faustian bargain.Like Churchill and the US did with Stalin v Hitler in WW2 . Realpolitik .Nixon - Kissinger and Mao etc etc . Now that Finland is in the EU the issue is one of reconciling the duality of bing inside this tent and dealing with the geographical -political reality of Russia next door . The French have their helicopter attack vessel issue - another little Faustian deal - the Germans are the big Russian traders and have myriads of Faustian contracts - while the USA has the extra terrestrial one of depending on Russia for the space deals for the time being . In this day and age best to sit down with Russia and work out the modus operandi that will be the least harmful for the EU Russia Ukraine.Someone in the Kremlin said that if Finland joins NATO then that is the harbinger for WW3 and Russia wants to convert Finland into a Russian Hong Kong ( with the taxes ?? ) . Before the Baltic gets too many waves we all need to get a Concert of Europe deal on the table. By the way it is 200 years since Metternich and Castlereigh put that deal together .
@Mulgrave Very good historical perspective. The only comment is that even if Finland is using nearly 100% Russian gas, its small proportion of the overall energy mix. This is because of domestic nuclear energy has been systematically being built out, even against global trends and fashions. The key question is if the next reactor should be co-invested with Russia and if not where the balance will come from. This is big money for a small country.
@Toffe
Finland is a AAA country and has more than enough money.
The point is, whom do you buy a reactor from, and that basically leaves France or Russia.
And just as the French reactors in England are part owned by France,
part or more ownership of new Russian reactors in Finland and Hungary gives the builder a strong incentive to get and keep them going : - )
@Toffe The other issue is as the Green Finnish guy is saying by doing the nuclear deal with Russia this increases dependency on the Russians for energy be it via megajoules or investment as well as maybe by inference politics. Who knows what the byzantine corridors of Kremlin politics involve . Maybe the Russian whispers are that of the tit for tat variety. Scuttle our nuclear deal then maybe Finnair gets the cold shoulder over Russia. That means almost certain bankruptcy for Finnair ( state owned - bail out ) with about 50 % of its business dependent on flying over Russia to the Far East . Again a bit of a boo boo . What about US West coast - San Francisco - LA that is where the growth industries are for Finland's future growth . If ever the maxim was Go West than this is the time . Motto is not to put all the Russian eggs in the basket as they peel away for more surprises . Already the ship yard in Helsinki is dependent on Russian ice breaker orders.. Pipeline under the Baltic with Russian gas to Germany .. The Russian Military - Energy - Industrial complex is concentrated in the hands of the Kremlin . The main stockholder .
@Mulgrave
How about the EU buying the French Mistrals instead? A lose-win-win deal.
Russia loses the chance to get a western amphibious assault ship to support its aggressions. EU/Nato gets a modern ship for their Rapid Reaction Forces. France gets its money back for the deal that was sealed a long time before the sanctions were agreed on.
One to be anchored on the Gulf of Finland between Helsinki and Tallinn. Another one in Black Sea. Something for everyone.
“Mr Niinistö warned that the project would increase Finland’s energy dependence on Russia as the Nordic country already gets all its gas from its neighbour.”
New LNG terminals are being planned for that reason – to reduce dependency on Russian gas. The new nuclear power plants (3 permissions) are being built for generating electricity, which obviously reduces the need to import it from Russia and other neighbouring countries. Greenhorns.
I maintain that what we "the West" are doing now, is not about Ukraine or Crimea, but rather about giving a clear (ie costly) signal of realignment under the US Emperor. Me myself, although sitting west of Vienna, I'm very happy to be a subject of the Western Emperor, thus I'm not complaining. Still, I'm very curious to see whether those other Emperor's subjects who are not paying their own tribute, will get any imperial punishment.
@Musso What on earth are you talking about? The topic of the article is if Finland with 1300km of direct border to Russia is putting its own interests over that of Europe and the world.
@Toffe @Musso of course it's putting its own interests first ..... just like every other country does. In the case of Finland, it chooses to balance its interests with those of Europe and Russia. Very wise I'd have said.
@Toffe
But of course, "Finland with 1300km of direct border to Russia is putting its own interests over that of Europe and the world", indeed. That is to say, Finland is refusing to give that clear (ie costly) signal of realignment demanded by the US Emperor. => Thus I repeat it again: I'm very curious to see whether it will get any imperial punishment.
@Musso @Toffe
Do you mean White House blackmailing Finland?
Maybe Finland's Nato application will be forgotten under those of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova etc.