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Prime Minister of Finland: Europe is defended here: in Finland, in the Baltic countries, in Poland

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Europe is not defended in the countries of Western or Southern Europe, but in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland, said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. In his opinion, joint borrowing by European Union member states should not be ruled out if the funds are allocated to strengthening the defense of the bloc's eastern flank.

The head of the Finnish government also referred to plans to finance Europe's defense, including on the basis of the EU shared debt mechanism. – I do not rule out support for this, provided that the money is transferred to places where Europe is defended, Orpo said in a Saturday program of public television Yle.

– Europe is not defended in the south or west. It is defended here in the Finlandin the Baltic countries, in Poland, in the eastern areas – he said. – These are such large amounts that we cannot bear it ourselves – he admitted.

Orpo also recalled that, according to the current official position of the Finnish government, the goal is not to include defense spending when determining the amount budget deficit. According to EU rules, the public sector deficit cannot exceed 3% and the debt ratio cannot exceed 60%. GDP.

Finnish army exercises puolustusvoimat.fi

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Voices of criticism from coalition partners

The government coalition partners, including the second largest right-wing populist party, the Finns (PS), were critical of Prime Minister Orpo's proposal.

When approving the government program in mid-2023, it was decided that Finland would no longer accept any mechanism relating to joint debt, similar to the previously adopted EU Reconstruction Instrument – politicians of this group reminded.

Orpo himself is the leader of the National Coalition, a party with a conservative-liberal profile.

Main photo source: puolustusvoimat.fi



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