Long-time Centre Party cabinet minister Mauri Pekkarinen, who heads the Finnish Parliament's Commerce Committee, is demanding an explanation from the government about the recently-agreed sanctions against Russia.
Pekkarinen wants Prime Minister Alexander Stubb to explain the effects of the sanctions on the Finnish economy, as there has been contradictory information about this issue.
“The Committee thinks that it would be very good to get an explanation from Prime Minister Stubb and experts on trade with Russia about the effects the sanctions will have on Finnish-Russian trade and the whole Finnish economy,” Pekkarinen said on Wednesday.
Sanctions kinder on France and Germany?
On Tuesday, when new, tougher measures against Russia were agreed upon by EU leaders, Stubb said that the sanctions would not have a radical effect on the Finnish economy. According Pekkarinen, however, Finland may suffer from the sanctions more than many other EU countries.
“This is clear, as many sectors with Russian cooperation important to Germany and France are not included in the sanctions. These countries have taken care of other EU countries without caring about the fact that their own vital, bilateral economic ties with Russia have not really been shaken,” Pekkarinen noted.
The Commerce Committee chair supports sanctions against Russia, but questions their even-handedness and justness in relation to all EU countries.
“The prime minister said that there were no other options, although other EU countries seem to have these,” he added.