VZCZCXYZ0015
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHHE #0352/01 1341406
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 141406Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3348
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 000352 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/17/2007 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR NATO EUN FI
SUBJECT: NEW SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT BREAKS WITH THE PAST 
 
 
Classified By: polchief Greg Thome, reasons 1.5 (b) (d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During their first meeting, new Speaker 
of Parliament Niinisto and the Ambassador discussed NATO 
issues and the EU's approach to Russia.  The Speaker spoke 
warmly both of the new tone in Finnish-US relations and of 
the "more open dialogue on NATO" his party intends to lead 
now that it is in government.  The Ambassador urged greater 
funding for peacekeeping operations, and asked that 
Parliament ratify two bilateral legal assistance treaties. 
The meeting made clear that Parliament's leader fully 
shares the GOF's goal of improving both the tone and the 
substance of the US-Finnish relationship.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Niinisto: A New Tone, A New NATO Dialogue 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) On May 11, Ambassador Ware made her first call on 
Sauli Niinisto in his capacity as new Speaker of 
Parliament.  Niinisto opened by assuring the Ambassador 
that both the new GOF and the new Parliament intended to 
improve the tone and the substance of the bilateral 
relationship.  The most visible changes will come in the 
areas of foreign and security policy and foreign policy. 
"We are saying goodbye to the shadows of the 1960s," he 
said, and from the US point of view this should mean more 
transparency on issues of importance to Washington. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Niinisto said that Finland was eager to establish 
a better relationship with the US and a "more open dialogue 
on NATO."  Previously, Finnish journalists and politicians 
attacked those who favored Finland's joining NATO, using 
support for NATO membership as a political weapon, he 
said.  Now, however, "that weapon no longer works."  As for 
the bilateral relationship, Parliament intends to match the 
improved tone and substance that Government has called for 
with the US.  The Speaker noted with pleasure that 
Parliament's American Friendship Caucus had already re- 
emerged, and he thanked Poloffs for briefing its members 
May 11.  He also specifically asked for more congressional 
delegations to Finland; more informal trips to the US such 
as the Pennsylvania trip the Embassy organized last year 
for the Finnish Foreign Affairs Committee; and frequent 
discussions with the Embassy to include a regular Speaker- 
Ambassador meeting. 
 
Bilateral Treaties and More PKO Funds 
------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador welcomed Niinisto's enthusiasm for 
revitalizing the bilateral relationship and suggested two 
concrete steps Parliament could take at this early stage. 
First, she urged ratification of a bilateral extradition 
treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT), both of 
which have awaited Parliamentary action since 2005. 
Niinisto assured her he would look in to both.  Second, she 
reminded the Speaker of the great value the US places on 
Finnish contributions to NATO and other international 
crisis management operations, and urged even greater 
participation.  Niinisto responded by noting that 
Parliament's was not the only voice that influenced 
budgetary priorities, but he expressed his pride in the 
work and reputation of Finnish peacekeepers and said he 
would do what he could to strengthen their efforts 
worldwide. 
 
The Russia Challenge 
-------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Turning to shared regional challenges, Niinisto 
said that the EU's strategic partnership is extremely 
important but that, unfortunately, it has reached a 
difficult impasse.  He agreed with the Ambassador that 
Moscow appears engaged in a rising trend of unsettling 
behavior.  However, Niinisto also noted that the EU's 
dependence on Russian energy and its inability to formulate 
a unified energy policy to protect its own interests 
exacerbate the problem.  Niinisto and the Ambassador also 
agreed that in addition to Russia, the US and EU needed to 
work together to address challenges in China and India -- 
again especially in the area of energy. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶6. (C) The Ambassador's first meeting with Niinisto in his 
capacity as Speaker made clear that Parliament fully shares 
the GOF's goal of improving both the tone and the substance 
of the US-Finnish relationship.  In particular, his 
"shadows of the 1960s" comment was a clear attempt to 
distance himself and the new government from President 
Halonen, former FM Erkki Tuomioja and others on the left 
wing of the Social Democratic Party, which dominated 
Finnish politics for the past 4 years.  Halonen and 
Tuomioja are products of the European anti-Americanism that 
accompanied the Vietnam War, and many Finns -- including 
Niinisto -- have criticized them for being unable to move 
beyond their "student activism" days and for allowing their 
unreconstructed anti-US radicalism to influence unduly 
their foreign policy decisions today.  END COMMENT. 
WARE