President Tarja Halonen and her husband Dr. Pentti Arajärvi began a two-day official visit to Estonia on Tuesday. The main topic of discussions during the visit is Sunday’s referendum in Estonia on the country’s EU membership.
Halonen said that Estonian EU membership would be pleasant for Finland. she feels that it is better to confront globalisation as a member of the EU than outside it. Halonen also said that Finns re concerned about how the Nordic welfare state model can be preserved within the Union.
She said that the years that Finland has been in the EU have shown that fears are reasonable, but exaggerated.
At the beginning of her visit Halonen met President Arnold Rüütel, who said that he believes that Halonen’s views will have an impact on Estonian opinion.
On Wednesday Halonen travels to Tartu where she will hold a lecture at the local university and answer questions from the audience.
Finnish News Agency