Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) adjusted his spectacles while appearing on YLE Ykkösaamu on Saturday, 11 January 2025. Orpo stated to the public broadcasting company that he is personally not opposed to the idea of common EU debt to finance defence acquisitions, as long as the “money is spent specifically where Europe is defended”. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)
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PRIME MINISTER Petteri Orpo (NCP) has revealed that he is personally not opposed to the idea of funding defence acquisitions with common EU debt.
Orpo on Saturday stated on YLE Ykkösaamu that he will not “rule out the possibility” of joint borrowing to strengthen defence capabilities as long as the funds are spent in areas responsible for defending Europe – in Finland, the Baltics and Eastern Europe, rather than in Western or Southern Europe.
“The sums are so big that we can’t do it alone,” he explained to the public broadcasting company.
He revealed that the government is looking to garner support from other member states for its position that there should be greater leeway for defence expenditure in the fiscal policy rules of the EU. The government is advocating for exempting defence expenditure from the deficit targets of the 27-country bloc.
The EU expects its members to maintain a public deficit less than 3 per cent and a debt ratio less than 60 per cent of their gross domestic product.
The Finns Party is very critical of the idea of joint borrowing, according to YLE. Jani Mäkelä, the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, said to the public broadcasting company that he is doubtful that the union can agree on a financial package such as that envisaged by Orpo.
“There’s no concrete proposal for what this package would be like. I doubt it’s credible that the EU package could be one where Finland receives more than it contributes,” he said.
Were such a package devised, it would be prudent to look into the conditions attached to it, added Mäkelä. The package, for example, should not obligate member states to acquire weapons systems from manufacturers in Europe.
“The weapons you acquire have to be the best,” he stated.
He also reminded that the government has taken what is principally a sceptical stance on common debt, with the government programme stating that the government will not approve of mechanisms such as the common recovery fund.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
