Police officers and security guards brought several activists into custody for trespassing on the construction site of Fennovoima's nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, Northern Ostrobothnia, on 26 April, 2016.
Fennovoima's nuclear power plant project in Pyhäjoki, Northern Ostrobothnia, is a high priority for Russia and threatens to undermine the national sovereignty of Finland, warns the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
Ville Niinistö, the chairperson of the Green League, estimates that the report substantiates concerns about the participation of Rosatom, a Russian state-owned nuclear energy company, in the nuclear power plant project and the exercise of foreign policy powers in energy-related issues by the Russian Government.
The National Coalition Party – one of the most vocal advocates of the project in Finland – should according to him accept responsibility for eroding the security environment of Finland.
“What say you, the National Coalition,” asks Niinistö.
An analysis of changes in foreign policy of Russia:
- The report presents an analysis of changes in the foreign policy of Russia and their implications for Finland.
- The objectives of the analysis were laid out in a governmental action plan for analysis, assessment and research activities.
- The conclusions presented in the report reflect the views of the authors, not necessarily those of the Government.
- The governmental steering group assigned to the project did, however, recommend unanimously that the report be published.
Emma Kari (Greens) has similarly expressed her concerns that faith in nuclear energy has jeopardised the security of Finland.
“The Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs' report states explicitly that the nuclear power plant project of Rosatom in Pyhäjoki is under the manual control of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. Rosatom's nuclear power plant is a tool to exercise power politics, increase our dependence of Russia and erode the position and security of Finland,” she writes on Facebook.
The National Coalition, she adds, pushed the project through the Finnish Parliament irrespective of such concerns.
“The project is of such importance that even after Finnish companies abandoned it, Fortum, a state-owned energy utility, was strong-armed into participating in order to grant Putin's power plant the Nordic Ecolabel,” she slams.
“It is now clear that the project is not in the best interests of this country.”
The Finnish Institute of International Affairs calls in its report attention to two factors that indicate how important the nuclear energy project is for Russia: Putin publicly praising Fortum and the Finnish Parliament, and Russia allocating 2.4 billion euros from the National Welfare Fund for the project.
Putin commended in his speech late last year both Forum and the Finnish Parliament, respectively, for taking on the risks associated with the project and for granting the project the necessary approval despite considerable opposition.
“Fortum – in a way that is extremely unusual for listed companies – announced that it will participate in a project that is not in line with its objectives with a substantial financial investment,” the report highlights.
The energy utility had initially declared that it is prepared to subscribe for up to 15 per cent of shares in Fennovoima only on the condition that it successfully acquires a majority stake in a proposed joint hydro-power venture with Rosatom.
“The process as a whole – and especially the fact that Fortum had to participate in the project against its will – indicates how geo-economic operations are conducted in practice: a system, in which economic objectives are overshadowed by political goals, trickles down irresistibly from a geo-economically active country to political decision-making and market-based companies in a destination country,” the researchers state.
“Russia will gain a firmer foothold in a strategically key sector as a result of the process, creating an incentive for Finland to maintain a good rapport with Moscow.”
An analyst at Chatham House, they point out, has alluded to historical events by describing such attempts to gain influence over the internal affairs of another country as “energy Finlandisation”.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Handout / Stop Fennovoima Source: Uusi Suomi
