The discussions between the Finnish prime minister and her Irish counterpart stressed the important role of the unity of the EU and the West in condemning Russia’s actions and assisting Ukraine.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (the SDP) and Taoiseach, Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheal Martin met in Helsinki on Friday. The main topics in the discussion were the EU’s actions to end Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, support for Ukraine and the economic and energy situation in Europe.
The discussion stressed the important role of the unity of the EU and the West in condemning Russia’s actions and assisting Ukraine.
“Support for Ukraine must continue for as long as necessary now that Ukraine is defending itself against Russia’s attack and, after that, to rebuild the country. Sanctions against Russia have been strong, they will be tightened even further and they will affect Russia’s capabilities,” the government’s communications department noted in a summary of the premiers’ talks.
The prime ministers stressed that, because of the actions Russia has taken, “it is justified to exclude the country from international forums in order to further increase the pressure to put an end to the war.” “It is also important to combat Russia’s disinformation and hybrid influence activities. The truth must be told about Russia’s illegal military aggression against Ukraine,” the communications department noted.
According to Irish Prime Minister Martin, at the moment sanctions were the most effective way of impacting Russia’s capability to wage war.
Unlike Finland, Ireland has not provided military aid to Ukraine. “Nothing in Ireland’s position on military neutrality in any way impedes the EU response,” Prime Minister Martin said. “We are not a strong military country, so we want to play to our strengths where we can be most effective in terms of our contribution. We will reflect on these issues later. For now, we want to maintain our strong unity of purpose.”
Martin added that while Ireland is a “military neutral country, we are not politically or morally neutral in the face of these war crimes and opposition.”
Prime Minister Marin said that Finland is currently providing humanitarian aid and military equipment to Ukraine and that so far, 16,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine had arrived in Finland. Marin added that Finland has already decided to reserve €700 million to support those arriving in the time ahead.
In their discussions, Prime Minister Marin told her colleague about the report on changes in the current security environment that discusses Finland’s foreign and security policy. The main concern is should Finland join NATO or not. The report will be submitted to Parliament in April.
The prime ministers also discussed the best ways to help people fleeing from the war in Ukraine. Under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive that has now been activated, protection can be granted quickly to Ukrainians without conducting an individual asylum investigation.
The Temporary Protection Directive also allows transfers of those covered by temporary protection from one EU member state to another.
Also on the agenda was the role of the green transition in phasing out the use of fossil energy from Russia and the importance of diverse sources of energy in the current situation. “Finland and Ireland strongly support the ambitious climate policy of the EU,” the communications department noted.
In addition, the prime ministers discussed the consequences of Brexit and the importance of honoring the EU-UK withdrawal agreement.
During his visit earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Martin also met with President Sauli Niinistö.
Martin described to Irish journalists that he and President Niinistö “had a very broad discussion on the war in Ukraine and “the degree to which the multilateral order has been turned upside down.”
According to Martin their discussions also focused on “the sheer barbaric nature of the attack on Ukrainian civilians, and the implications for the security architecture of Europe well into the future and the capacity of open economies like Ireland and Finland that are very alike.”
