Prime Minister Orpo: Only a strong Europe can defend its values

In his EU policy speech at Aalto University on Friday 8 May, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stressed that Europe and the European Union are still the best guarantee of security for citizens in an unstable global situation. He noted, however, that Europe needs to be much stronger in order to defend its values.

“Europe is the only structure that can safeguard what we believe in. Europe is not a project of the past. It is a project for the future,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.

Prime Minister Orpo pointed out that not everyone shares our values and that many are willing to use power politics to challenge the rules-based world order. According to Orpo, Europe must not be naive about the current situation.

“It is important for us to see the world as it really is – not as we want it to be. We have to be honest with ourselves. Those with military power and technologies are the ones who control the world. And that is exactly why Europe needs to develop those capabilities. We cannot defend Europe with values alone, we need the concrete ability to fight for them,” Prime Minister Orpo emphasised.

According to Orpo, Europe needs to be stronger when it comes to the economy, competitiveness, security, defence and external relations. It also needs to be stronger internally, meaning in its decision-making and structures.

With regard to EU integration, Orpo said that the EU should be prepared to move forward at different speeds. In other words, it should be possible for certain decisions to be made by smaller groups of Member States.

“It is in Finland’s interest to be involved in those areas where the EU is moving forward, be it defence, capital markets or critical raw materials,” Orpo said.

Finland to host European Arctic Summit

In his speech, Prime Minister Orpo emphasised the need for Finland to take on an active role as an EU Member State. He recalled the Eastern Flank Summit held in Helsinki last December, which led to the launch of defence and security cooperation between the countries on the EU’s eastern border.

This autumn, Prime Minister Orpo said, Finland will be hosting a European Arctic Summit where discussions will focus on Arctic security in the context of the European Union.

Prime Minister Orpo delivered his speech to students at the Dipoli building at Aalto University. The EU policy speech was part of the programme for Europe Day.

Inquiries: Elisa Tarkiainen, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister in EU Affairs, tel. +358 50 595 7751 and Marko Ruonala, Chief Communications Specialist, tel. +358 50 522 8233, Tuulia Nieminen, Senior Communications Specialist, tel. 050 575 1956, Prime Minister’s Office