Centre Party Chair Juha Sipilä's summer holiday ended on Saturday and the opposition party leader kicked off his autumn with an appearance at a literary event in central Finland. In between quotes from famous Finnish author Väinö Linna, the leader of Finland's second-largest party also managed to take a stand on the current discussion in Finland concerning sanctions against Russia.
"The situation in Ukraine has led to growing international pressure for sanctions against Russia, so this step was inevitable", he said, refusing to state whether the idea to impose even stricter sanctions was a wise move, in his opinion.
European Union analysis estimates that the sanctions against Russia will shrink the Russian economy by five percent. Sipilä feels the economic fallout that Finland will feel from the sanctions has been underestimated and should therefore be carefully examined as part of its budget negotiations.
"Finland should know how it will affect the economy next year, as there could be major consequences", he says.
Security options also need analysis
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has also raised a debate on Finland's security situation. In the next few months, a defence assessment commissioned to appraise the pros and cons of Finland's various defence partnership options will be completed, a project that enjoys Sipilä's full support.
"It has been ten years since our last NATO study, so we should be updating our information," he says. The Centre Party leader adds that he is particularly interested in opportunities for closer defence cooperation with Sweden.
Discussion on the subject began on Thursday, when Jussi Niinistö, chair of the parliamentary defence committee, demanded a comprehensive study with regard to NATO membership in the Aamulehti newspaper.
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja rejected the motion out of hand, saying the government was preparing an overview of all of its security options. On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö also weighed in, saying that an "overall assessment, including the NATO option, should be made".