Petteri Orpo was sworn in as Finland's new prime minister on Tuesday and is in coalition wih the right-wing populist Finns party. MAURI RATILAINEN/EPA
WAR IN UKRAINE
Back Russia’s war in Ukraine and lose aid, Finland tells African states
Newest Nato member says it is ‘morally wrong’ to pay for development of countries that support the conflict
Oliver Moody, Finland
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/finl ... -sp9lshv9t
Tuesday June 20 2023
Finland’s right-wing government will cut overseas aid payments to states that support Russia’s attack on Ukraine while limiting immigration and making it harder for foreign nationals to obtain residency or citizenship rights.
Petteri Orpo, leader of the main centre-right party, was sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday at the helm of a coalition whose agenda bears the strong imprint of the right-wing populist Finns party, his largest partner.
After four years under the left-leaning Sanna Marin the country is taking a marked step to the right on economic and social questions, with a mandate to rein in public spending, though its enthusiasm for Nato membership https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/finl ... -rt66xjz5p and its support for Ukraine remain unchanged.
The most eye-catching policies stem from the Finns party, which came close to winning the general election in April and controls seven of the 18 ministries, including the finance, justice and interior briefs. Among these measures is a vow to trim the foreign aid budget, which stands at 0.42 per cent of Finland’s GDP, and explicitly link part of it to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kyiv will receive a bigger share of Finnish development money overall and a diplomatic fillip as Helsinki withholds development aid from
This is part of a broader aim to make aid conditional ongovernments or entities that support Russia’s war of aggression.
While it is not the first time a western country has tried to use aid policy as a political lever, Finland does appear to be setting a precedent in tying it so closely to this specific conflict.support for the international rules-based order.
Ville Tavio, the Finns party’s new trade and international development minister, told The Times.Finland’s primary duty is to support Ukraine and compared to the immeasurable suffering of Ukrainians, it is morally wrong for Finland to continue granting development aid to countries that support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,
It is not clear how the approach will work in practice. Only a handful of states, such as Syria, Belarus, Eritrea and North Korea, have actively backed Russia in the United Nations general assembly. Dozens of others have abstained from UN resolutions on the war, refrained from condemning Russia’s aggression or helped Moscow to skirt western sanctions. However, the ten main recipients of Finnish foreign aid, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Nepal, have offered Russia little succour.Developing nations should focus on their internal development instead of endorsing Russia’s war. I am keeping an eye on countries that receive aid from Finland, but choose not to respect international rules-based order and Ukraine’s state sovereignty.
Yet the shift from Finland could pave the way for other European states to follow suit. Tavio said he hoped to co-ordinate similar approaches across the European Union.
Some analysts are also suggesting that western countries should be bolder in using aid or climate policy as tools to persuade developing countries to take their side in the current great-power rivalries with Russia or China.
Former prime minister Sanna Marin’s policy of giving full support to Ukraine and President Zelensky remains unchanged under the new coalition. EPA
Yet the shift by Finland sets a notable precedent when some analysts are suggesting that western countries should be bolder in using aid or climate policy as tools to persuade developing countries to take their side in power rivalries with Russia or China.
said Benjamin Tallis, a senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.We should not unconditionally support those who seek to undermine our interests and values,
The Finns party also scored a victory on immigration policy. Following the examples of Sweden and Denmark, which have hardened their positions under pressure from rightwingers, Finland will halve its annual quota of asylum seekers from just over 1,000 to 500 and raise the bar for residency permits and Finnish citizenship.Removing aid gives the possibility for using it as leverage. Trade and aid with swing states will be key areas in the battle for influence, and while the question with trade is more complex, with development aid it is relatively simple — we shouldn’t fund the development of illiberal ordering.
This is a strong move by Finland but likely not one that they will remain isolated on. Across liberal democracies, people and politicians are asking why we should pay to support those who actively oppose our values and who claim their interests run contrary to ours.
Mari Rantanen, the Finns party’s interior minister, said immigration policy had been a “failure” under the Marin regime.
she told Yle.We have to react to what we have seen in Sweden,
About 300 people gathered next to the Oodi library in central Helsinki yesterday to protest against the reforms.We [want] to ensure there is no economic or security threat to Finland.
