MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Last month, Finland voted in parliamentary elections. Soini’s right-wing Finns Party, formerly known as True Finns, came second after the liberal Center Party, scoring 17.7 percent of votes and securing 38 seats in the legislature.
In early May, Finland’s next Prime Minister Juha Sipila, from the first-placed Center, invited the Finns and the center-right National Coalition to form a three-way coalition government.
Speaking at Wednesday’s press conference, the foreign-minister-designate vowed that the center-right cabinet would focus on securing "our independence and regional integrity," according to Financial Times.
Another Win for Euroskeptics
The 52-year-old Soini has been a staunch critic of the European Union and its euro economic area, called the eurozone. Finland is part of both the EU and the eurozone. Earlier this month, Soini said it would be better for debt-ridden Greece to leave the bloc.
But when unveiling the new government’s agenda on Wednesday, Soini toned down his usual anti-EU and anti-Greece rhetoric, saying the country did not regard a revision of EU treaties "as a priority at this time," as quoted by the Financial Times. The new coalition also agreed to consider a modified bailout for troubled Athens after concerns that Soini’s euroskepticism could derail repayment talks.
Finland Warms Up to Russia
Finland has a longer border with Russia than any other EU nation. In a comment to journalists, Soini referred to its eastern neighbor as an "important neighbor of Finland," although he said Helsinki continued to back EU sanctions against Moscow, according to Financial Times.
At the same time, Soini told the conference he planned to bolster defense cooperation with Sweden and keep the door open to NATO membership. Finland and Sweden are notable for being some of the few EU nations that are not members of the US-led military bloc.
