Finland koestert neutraliteit (en)

Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja has said he is convinced that Finland will remain non-aligned - even under a system of closer co-operation in defence and security within the EU.

"Finland is non-aligned as long as we want to continue on that path", said Mr Tuomioja at a news conference organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki on Monday (1 December), according to Helsingin Sanomat.

The following day he paid a second visit to Paris to hold talks with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin on the drafting of the future EU Constitution.

For the EU's four non-aligned or neutral countries Finland, Sweden, Ireland and Austria, the issue is politically very sensitive and could mean that they have severe difficulties in getting the Constitution accepted.

Last weekend, EU foreign ministers discussed an Italian proposal obliging EU countries to provide military aid in an emergency - even without a specific request from the country that has been attacked.

The disputed wording was changed when the non-aligned EU member states Finland, Sweden, and Ireland put forward an alternative that fell short of calling for automatic security guarantees.

Major interests at stake

The Finnish government is also under strong pressure from within its own ranks. MP Kimmo Kiljunen, a member of the Convention and a Social Democrat like the foreign minister, said last week that Italy's proposal would mean an end to Finland's non-alignment.

A third prominent Social Democrat, Paavo Lipponen, also took a stand on the defence question on Monday. He dismissed the current debate about non-alignment as "theological" and said the most important thing for Finland would be to take part in European defence co-operation.

"We have major interests at stake", he said according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Bordering Russia, Finnish neutrality was recognised by both the West and the East in the early 1960s.

The European Union's highest military official is the former Chief of Defence in Finland Gustav Hägglund, who has been the Chairman of the Union's Military Committee since 2001.