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Fri, 01 Aug, 2014 12:01:24 AM FTimes-STT Report, August 1  Defense Minister Carl Haglund. Photo – Lehtikuva. Defence Minister Carl Haglund has welcomed Parliament Defence Committee Chair Jussi Niinistö’s proposal for an inquiry to assess the benefits and drawbacks of NATO membership.
Niinistö called for the inquiry in a report published in the Finnish-language daily Aamulehti.
According to Haglund, the analysis could lead to a good, open and multifaceted discussion on the military alliance membership and also provide an avenue for public debate.
The insight, according to Haglund, would not be a preserve of the defence ministry alone but would also require the contribution of foreign ministry and the president.
Both the parliamentary committees on defence and foreign ministries had been deliberating on this kind of an inquiry throughout spring, revealed Haglund.
The minister believes if the Ministry of Defence is called on to contribute then it will be difficult for the government and the ministry to refuse parliament’s request.
But, in the same Aamulehti report, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja dismissed the proposal.
According to Tuomioja, the government is preparing a more extensive review of security cooperation.
Haglund, however, does not believe that the inquiry results from a lack of information, pointing out that the NATO membership’s “price tag” is quite well known and that in the minister’s view is not that significant in relation to the annual defence budget.
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Finland Times
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