FINLAND: NEW DEFENSE POLICY INCHES TOWARD NATO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000079 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/26/2019 TAGS: FI MARR PGOV PREL SUBJECT: FINLAND: NEW DEFENSE POLICY INCHES TOWARD NATO MEMBERSHIP Classified By: CDA Michael A. Butler for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On January 23 the Finnish Government (GoF) released its quadrennial defense security white paper. It delayed release due to difficulty in arriving at a consensus on how to treat the question of Finland's possible NATO membership. Some in the Cabinet sought stronger language favoring NATO membership, while others wished the paper to break no new ground. Prime Minister Vanhanen insisted on stronger language, and the paper describes NATO as "the most important military security cooperation organization." However, Vanhanen also ensured that the paper contains arguments against membership and strong language favoring security promotion through other organizations like the EU. Speaking February 4 before Parliament, President Halonen emphasized that the new policy does not change government policy and Finland continues to retain the option to join NATO. Foreign Minister Stubb publicly stated that Finland will not pursue NATO membership during the current government (term ending 2011). While the latest white paper gives something to NATO supporters and NATO skeptics, the supporters benefit more: With opposition to NATO membership slowly diminishing and the pro-NATO governing coalition member National Coalition Party (NCP) riding high in polls, the NCP's aspirations to shepherd Finland into NATO in the next government seem more realistic now than Prime Minister Vanhanen's prediction that Finland will not be a NATO member ten years from now. END SUMMARY. NATO debate delays release of defense and security white paper -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) On January 23 the GoF released the latest version of its quadrennial defense and security white paper. It delayed release in 2008, in part due to the challenge of addressing a swiftly changing security environment, including Russia's incursion into Georgia, but also to wrangling within the GoF about how to address possible NATO membership. While support for NATO membership crosses party lines in the four-party coalition government, it is strongest within the NCP. According to Jori Arvonen, advisor to Foreign Minister Stubb (NCP),some in the GoF sought a white paper that broke no new ground while others (in particular the NCP leadership) insisted it must address significant changes internationally since the last report. Prime Minister Vanhanen, whose Center Party holds many NATO skeptics, agreed that the paper should contain stronger language regarding NATO. However, in order to maintain consensus within a government not unified on the question of NATO membership, the paper includes arguments both for and against, plus language stressing the importance of working with and through other institutions, in particular the European Union. NATO membership: a "strong case" preserved and deferred -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) The 2004 white paper described NATO as an organization of "key importance" for "transatlantic security policy and security cooperation" before somewhat blandly concluding that "applying for membership ... will remain a possibility ... in the future." The 2009 white paper states NATO is "the most important military security cooperation organization." It also states that NATO's objectives, tasks and obligations are analogous with the foreign and security policy goals of Finland and the EU. As FM Stubb pointed out upon the release of the report, the paper states that "there will continue to be a strong case for Finland's membership." Nevertheless, having weighted the alternatives - rejecting membership, pursuing it or maintaining the possibility - the GoF decided to preserve the option. ¶4. (U) In an interview following the release of the paper, Stubb said Finland would not apply for membership before the next parliamentary elections (2011). In order to apply for membership, Stubb said the government and President must agree, and the public would also have to favor membership. Instead of pursuing NATO membership, Stubb said the GoF would focus on Nordic Defense Cooperation. Something for everyone -------------- ¶5. (C) Following release of the report, a major weekly publication cast President Halonen, who has said Finland would not join NATO during her tenure (ending in 2012),as the loser in the internal struggle surrounding the paper's treatment of NATO. However, this may mis-characterize the result, as PM Vanhanen, a scrupulous consensus-builder, ensured a carefully-worded report that gives something to everyone. In a February 4 speech opening the new session of Parliament Halonen acknowledged that the paper addresses HELSINKI 00000079 002 OF 002 NATO-related issues "more comprehensively" than before, but also emphasized a "clear agreement" within the government that the "report does not bring NATO membership any closer or push it further away, but it keeps (the option) just as much a possibility as it was before." (COMMENT: Some Finns have shared with Emboffs their impression that Halonen has softened her stance on NATO, at least somewhat, likely due in part to the election of Barack Obama. That softening may go far enough to permit a consensus on stronger language regarding NATO but not enough to apply for membership during her term. END COMMENT.) Also, in an interview, Tarja Cronberg - Employment and Economy Minister and head of coalition member Green Party - pointed to the paper's arguments against membership, and emphasized the importance placed on the EU and Nordic Defense Cooperation for Finland's security. ¶6. (C) NATO supporters, in particular the NCP leadership, welcome the stronger language as one step in reaching a broader public and political consensus on NATO membership. Acknowledging that a majority of Finns currently oppose membership, Arvonen pointed out to Polchief that the public is well aware of NCP's support for NATO membership, and yet the party's popularity is rising. NCP currently tops opinion polls, and Arvonen told Polchief that its leadership sees the NCP leading the next government and taking Finland into NATO. (NOTE: A poll taken after the paper's release shows that while opposition to NATO membership remains over 50 percent, it is dropping: the gap between supporters and opponents shrank from over 50 percent to 26 percent in the last six years. END NOTE.) ¶7. (C) As for Vanhanen, the Prime Minister walks a fine line between NATO supporters and skeptics. His own leanings on the question of NATO membership are unclear, but when asked by a newspaper after the paper's release to look ten years into Finland's future, among numerous other predictions he said that in 2019 Finland would not be a NATO member. He offered no reason why Finland would not join NATO by then. Vanhanen's comment might reflect internal party politics than personal conviction, as the Center Party's popularity is slipping in polls, his own popularity within the Center Party is dwindling, and only twenty percent of his party's membership supports NATO membership. Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Depending on with whom ones speaks, Finland is either moving towards NATO membership or standing in place. Those claiming movement towards NATO currently have the stronger case. Wide media coverage focused more on the "strong case" in favor of membership than on a multilateral security policy encompassing a number of international actors. For public opinion, a decrease in opposition may be more important than an increase in support: In Finland a lack of public support will not prevent a government from acting, and public support often follows government policy, as seen when the GoF successfully pursued EU membership despite low support. Therefore, with opposition to NATO membership diminishing and the NCP riding high in polls (including NCP member Sauli Niinisto leading polls for the next presidential election), the NCP's aspirations to shepherd Finland into NATO in the next government seem more realistic now than Vanhanen's politically-motivated prediction for 2019. (Post will address the paper's treatment of the U.S. septel.) END COMMENT. BUTLER