Finland news and discussions

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Ukraine war: Finland confirms it will apply to join NATO to 'maximise' country's security

Sunday 15 May 2022

Finland has confirmed it will apply to join NATO despite Russia's president warning it would be a "mistake" to do so.

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said joining the military alliance will "maximise" his country's security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A formal membership application is expected to be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week.

"This is a historic day. A new era begins," Mr Niinisto said.

https://news.sky.com/story/finland-conf ... y-12613613

[wjfox]

Sanna Marin suffers defeat in Finland election as SDP beaten into third place

Mon 3 Apr 2023 01.09 BST

Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, has lost her battle to stay in power after her centre-left Social Democratic party (SDP) was narrowly beaten into third place in a cliffhanger election by its conservative and far-right rivals.

With all of the votes counted on Sunday, the right-wing National Coalition party (NCP) won 20.8% of the vote, with the populist, nation-first Finns party scoring 20.1%. Marin’s SDP took 19.9% of the vote. Voter turnout was 71.9%.

Marin congratulated the election winners during her concession speech, but hailed an improvement in both her party’s vote share and its projected number of MPs. “It’s a really good achievement, even though I didn’t finish first today,” she told supporters in Helsinki.

“Democracy has spoken, the Finnish people have cast their vote, and the celebration of democracy is always a wonderful thing,” she added. “We have good reason to be happy about this result.”

The NCP’s leader, Petteri Orpo, told the public broadcaster, Yle, that the result was a “big victory … a strong mandate for our policies”, adding that his party would be leading the coalition talks. Finns leader Riikka Purra called it an “an excellent result”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... -coalition

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Finland Is Still Officially The Happiest Place on Earth. Here's Why
by Danny Dorling
April 6, 2023

Introduction:

(Science Alert) Finland has been the happiest country on Earth for the past six years, according to the World Happiness Survey. This survey relies on the Cantril ladder life evaluation question:

• Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?

Finland comes out top, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Just why Finns are happier than others comes down to a number of factors including lower income inequality (most importantly, the difference between the highest paid and the lowest paid), high social support, freedom to make decisions, and low levels of corruption.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/finland-i ... heres-why

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

That's great, I am interested on whom supports them that they give aid too though plus all of European countries should do the same.

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Finland to close all but one Russia border crossing to stop asylum seekers
The Guardian

Finland has said it will close all but one crossing point on its border with Russia in an effort to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, as Estonia accused Moscow of mounting “a hybrid attack operation” on Europe’s eastern border.

The announcement on Wednesday came after weeks of tension on the 830-mile (1,330km) border across which Helsinki accuses Moscow of guiding refugees and migrants in an apparent act of revenge for the Nordic nation’s cooperation with the US.

From midnight on Friday, said the Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo, the only open border crossing of Finland’s eight stations would be its northernmost at Raja-Jooseppi.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... um-seekers

[Powers]

The announcement on Wednesday came after weeks of tension on the 830-mile (1,330km) border across which Helsinki accuses Moscow of guiding refugees and migrants in an apparent act of revenge for the Nordic nation’s cooperation with the US.

[caltrek]

Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb wins 1st Round of Finland’s Presidential Vote to Set Up a Runoff
by Jarri Tanner
January 28, 2024

Introduction:

(Stars and Stripes) HELSINKI — Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland’s presidential election Sunday and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.

The vote largely centered on the Nordic nation’s new role as a NATO front-line country with Russia, and the security situation in Europe, particularly Russia’s assault on Ukraine.

With all the votes counted, Stubb led the first round with 27.2% of the votes, while Haavisto, Finland’s top diplomat in 2019-2023, took second place with 25.8%. Parliamentary Speaker Jussi Halla-aho came in third with 19%, followed by Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn with 15.3%.

The first-round election result will be officially confirmed Tuesday. The result will push the race into a runoff on Feb. 11 between Stubb and Haavisto, because none of the candidates received more than half of the votes.

“Getting such a result together with the team is heartwarming. I am grateful and humbled by it,” Stubb told his supporters in an election party at a Helsinki restaurant, adding that he wasn’t planning major changes in his campaign for the second round of voting.

Read more here: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europ ... 258.html

[Time_Traveller]

Finns vote for a new president who will guide policy for the new NATO member and neighbor of Russia

Updated 11:10 AM GMT, February 11, 2024

HELSINKI (AP) — Voters in Finland are choosing Sunday between two experienced politicians to be their next president, whose main task will be to steer the Nordic country’s foreign and security policy now that it is a member of NATO, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Former prime minister Alexander Stubb, 55, on the center right, and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, from the green left, largely agree on Finland’s foreign policy and security priorities.

These include maintaining a hard line toward Moscow and Russia’s current leadership, strengthening security ties with Washington, and the need to help Ukraine both militarily and at a civilian level. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia.

Unlike in most European countries, the president of Finland holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government, especially concerning countries outside the European Union such as the United States, Russia and China.

The head of state also commands the military — particularly important in Europe’s current security environment and the changed geopolitical situation of Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023 in the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine a year earlier.

https://apnews.com/article/finland-pres ... c8dc840c10

[weatheriscool]