This is Europe - Debate with the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin (debate)
Speaker: Philippe LAMBERTS (Belgium, Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance / Ecologistes Confédérés pour l'Organisation de Luttes Originales)
Date: 2022-09-13

  Philippe Lamberts,  on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Madam President, I would like to welcome the Prime Minister. On behalf of the Greens and the European Free Alliance, it’s really a pleasure to see you here because your presence reminds us that, actually, every national government also, as part of the European Council, has European responsibilities. It’s really important that we keep that spirit, that Member States are absolutely crucial to the advancement of the European Union.
Many things that you said were actually music to my ears. And I would say there is little to disagree with you on. Your country is certainly better placed to know the true nature of the Russian dictatorship. Your warnings and those of many former Soviet bloc countries, now Member States of the European Union, have been ignored. For too long, there has been complacency, I would say, especially in the biggest Member States – Germany, France, Italy – towards Russia, and now we are paying the price for that, and you were right to point that out. Your affirmation, of course, that united we stand stronger – you know, this is the motto of my country: l’union fait la force, and this is the motto of the European Union as well. I like also very much – and coming from you, it’s interesting –your insistence that, yes, fiscal rules are needed, but actually, they need to take into account the social and environmental dimensions, and that is also welcome. Also, a Prime Minister saying that we need to tackle energy speculation is good because there’s many people who still assert that speculation is good for the markets, you know, but we also know the downsides and the extraction possibilities that give these gifts to economic players.
Having said this, I think real friends have a duty to be frank with one another. And I would like to confront at least two of the key aspects of your speech to the reality of policy—making in Finland. Of course, the first is through a green transition. Finland often portrays itself as a leader of the green transition, and indeed, at the last climate conference, in Glasgow, your country boasted about its ambition to be climate—neutral by 2035, 15 years ahead of the European Union. These bold plans turn out to be, actually, a false promise: the massive carbon sink provided by your country’s forests was supposed to be the cornerstone, the foundation of the plan. I say ‘was’ because it turns out that in reality, the land sector, including forests, of course, now emits more carbon than was thought, so it’s no longer a carbon sink due to harmful industrial forestry practices disguised as sustainable forestry management. But forests are not only vital to our climate strategy; when properly managed, they are also a haven of biodiversity. There again, I cannot understand that your government has actively worked against every EU initiative to include the preservation of biodiversity in forestry legislation in agricultural policy.
The other source of major disappointment is your government’s decision to join the so-called Frugal Coalition. At the height of the pandemic, when fiscal solidarity was most needed, your government, rather than extending a helping hand, stood in the way. Sure, you came around in the end, but the impression remains that for your government and for many people in Finland, every euro cent invested in our common endeavours would actually be better spent at home. Let me remind you – and you said it yourself – that all the members of what I call the ‘Stingy Coalition’ are massive net beneficiaries of the European integration project, if only because of membership of the single market. And sooner or later, even the frugal end up needing the solidarity of others. Both Sweden and Finland are now seeking the security guarantees of their new NATO partners. So my message is simple: membership of a club is not and can never be a one—way street. Its benefits come hand-in-hand with responsibilities and commitments.
Prime Minister Marin, under your leadership, I hope and I believe that the Finnish Government will come to realise that it is in Finland’s best interest to actually be – rather than claim to be – among the leaders of the green revolution, and that fiscal solidarity between Member States is not a waste of money, but a sound investment in our common future. Under your leadership and with the Finnish Greens at your side, Prime Minister, this can actually happen, so just do it.