#efpi

Estonia has always been highly interested in Finland's possible membership of NATO, Kristi Raik, Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, told Helsingin Sanomat. However, Estonians fail to understand how important the so-called "NATO option" is for Finland to ensure its "room for manoeuvre" in relation to Russia, Raik says. The Finnish "option" has amused Estonians: Finns only begin discussing possible membership when the security situation deteriorates, yet never actually submit a membership application. At the same time, Finland meets NATO's membership criteria better than some existing members, she noted. "When the situation remains calm, it is easier to justify why membership is not needed; now that the situation is alarming and the threat of war hangs over Europe, it is more difficult to justify not joining NATO," Raik argued. Also, Finland is rather alone in calling for a stronger EU role in defence policy, she pointed out.

Estonian foreign policy experts do not think Finland will join NATO in the near future, Estonia's public broadcaster, ERR, reports. Kristi Raik, Director of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, said the Finnish president's and prime minister's recent statements about the door to NATO being open showed that Finland took Russia's warnings against membership in the defence alliance seriously. She said that the right to join NATO was part of Finland's security strategy, and that the "NATO card" had been used to try to thwart Russian pressure. Finland is, in essence, telling Russia that if you do not pull back, we will join NATO, Raik said. Meanwhile, Erkki Bahovski, Opinion Editor of Postimees daily, noted that Finland was "very slow" to change its security policy. He did not think that Finland would revise its policy radically unless Russia launched an open invasion into Ukraine. Raik said Finland joining NATO could not be ruled out, either. "Yet applying for membership right now would be especially difficult as the security situation in Europe was more turbulent than at any time over the last 30 years," she noted.