The foreign policy of Finland

Finland achieved independence from Russia in 1917. The country sought allies to help neutralize the dominance of the Soviet Union until the end of World War II. They ended up fighting the Winter War of 1939 for a year without any allies. Meanwhile the German Nazis were defeated by the United States and its allies. The situation left Finland with no alternative countries to rely on so they began to change their foreign relations policies. Details about the changes are below:

•A formal policy of neutrality in the Cold War.
•They actually practiced a policy of appeasement of the USSR. It was named Paasikivi-Kekkonen Line.

The Soviet Empire started to disintegrate in the early 1980s and this influenced Finland’s decision to be a part of the Western European integration. Their goal was to secure access to Western European markets in order to maintain economic stability. Finland joined the European Union in 1995. They collaborated with 11 other European Union members to introduce the euro currency.

The general foreign relations objectives of modern day Finland involve security, international influence and the promotion of the best interests of the country. They consider the increase of international cooperation to be extremely important. Finland's security policy is based on a highly credible defense capability. Finland supports efforts to strengthen the European Union as a major player in the field of international policy and economy. The development of relations with the Nordic countries, Russia and the Baltic States is of key importance. The President of the Republic is in charge of the foreign and security policy and he counts on the cooperation of the Government. The Prime Minister is responsible for issues relating to the European Union. The Finland constitution determines their respective competences. The Finnish Parliament takes responsibility for legislative matters that involve international relations. The members also control the implementation of foreign and security policy. A Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee deals with international concerns that Parliament has worked on, a Grand Committee prepares European Union issues, and the Defense Committee prepares defense policy issues. All of these entities unite to run the government on behalf of the people of Finland.