A strong Union in the interests of Finland and Ireland

The Lisbon Treaty, Finland’s chairmanship of the OSCE, Georgia, relations between the EU and Russia, meetings with the press. These were events on Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb’s agenda during his brief visit to Dublin on 19 November. The Minister had a working lunch with his Irish colleague Micheal Martin, talked at a session of the Sub-Committee on Ireland’s Future in the European Union, and gave a presentation together with Martin to students at University College Dublin.

As expected, the number one topic was the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. It is known that Ireland rejected the Treaty in a referendum last June. In order to move beyond this impasse, the Government of Ireland has advanced cautiously by seeking support from other Member States and by commissioning research reports. In addition, the Government has appointed the Sub-Committee on Ireland’s Future in the European Union, which has heard dozens of experts on how to proceed and what kind of future Ireland will have in the European Union. This is where Minister Stubb also spoke.

“During its history, the Union has bounced from one crisis to the next and has always solved them. This is what we will do now, too. It must be remembered that the problem is a common one, and so is the solution. We don’t want to create a core Europe, and even if we wanted to do that, we’d like to see Ireland in this core. Ireland’s influence in the Union has exceeded its size, and in many issues Ireland and Finland have shared the same views,” Minister Stubb said.

Stubb’s message was that a strong and functioning EU is a common interest, especially as concerns the interests of small Member States. It can respond to current challenges, such as the financial crisis, employment, climate change, etc. The Lisbon Treaty is good. It increases the Union’s capacity to function and democracy, but the Union must learn to communicate better with citizens.

The Irish Government is expected to present a concrete proposal on how to proceed from the present situation at the European Council in December.

Other topics discussed during the visit were Finland’s chairmanship of the OSCE and its most topical challenge Georgia, the general world situation, the EU–Russia relations, and peacekeeping. Minister Martin also congratulated Finland on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, who also played a role in the peace process of Northern Ireland.

On Wednesday night Minister Stubb flew to London.