Finland’s stance towards the military alliance Nato has been a debated issue for decades, with new events triggering widespread criticism. Head daily Helsingin Sanomat makes clear in its story ingress that Nato will soon gain rights to conduct military training operations within Finland’s borders, but not without the country’s express consent.
The cabinet's foreign and security policy committee and the president's office will be signing a document called a Host Nation Support Memorandum of Understanding. The document, which is political and not international in nature, indicates that Finland could also be utilised by Nato in times of crisis. But other limitations include Nato’s right to decline military aid, should Finland request it in the future without belonging to the alliance outright, the newspaper explains. While many see the new host country agreement as a move supporting Finland’s future membership in Nato, foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja from the Social Democratic Party curbs undue enthusiasm in the HS article (and in Iltalehti) saying that the agreement is not a step towards joining the international alliance.
“The important thing here is that the agreement does not obligate Finland or Nato to give or receive military aid, or allow using Finnish soil as a passing-through point,” Tuomioja says.
The sober viewpoint is not shared by Rossiiskaja Gazeta, the Russian state daily, which “reacted immediately” to the agreement news by calling it a clear indication of intentions of membership, according to daily Ilta-Sanomat.
Budget talking points, girl found abroad
Other top print news includes the main points of the ongoing governmental budget sit-downs. Helsingin Sanomat delineates three primary concerns. Firstly, measures to offset the child benefit cuts earlier this year mean that coming child-related tax deduction plans will affect a broader group of Finns than originally intended by finance minister Antti Rinne – HS reports that the annual income limit for decreases in benefits for families with children would in future be raised by some 5,000 to 10,000 euros.
Other talking points drawn by HS are the proposition to raise the compulsory schooling age to 17 and the ever-tightening economical situation – worsened, the paper says, by the decline in Russia’s economy and the current sanctions war.
In more positive news, 8-year-old Sandra Hernandez from Kontula, Helsinki has been found in Malaga, southern Spain. Ilta-Sanomat, who has covered the missing girl widely, says the child had been missing for almost three weeks before an international police operation found her at last in Malaga. Her father – who has so far avoided police custody – abducted her in early August when she was on her way to a sleepover at a friend’s house.
President commends anti-bullying teenager
And finally, several papers carry bios and articles on and surrounding 19-year-old Juho Räty and his efforts to counteract youth bullying in a Helsinki bus. Tampere paper Aamulehti carries a piece on the highschooler, whom president Sauli Niinistö personally praised on Facebook. The social media platform took Räty’s status update to heart, with more than 5,000 shares and “great media interest”, Aamulehti says.
"Four other boys called the fifth names, pushed him around and threw his shoe across the bus," Räty's status update describes. "I finally went over after watching for a while, enraged at the way no one was helping. I got off the bus with the bullied boy and we waited for the next bus together. We didn't speak, and I probably didn't end the bullying he is facing, but I knew he was grateful."
The paper reports that the hero himself – who says he is active in the National Coalition Party’s Youth League and denies any relation to oft-cited Minister of Social Affairs and Health Laura Räty – is happy but also worried by the attention his helping hand has brought.
“People recognise me in the street and applaud me for what I did,” Räty says. “It’s weird to me, but also a little worrying. It means that stepping in when someone is being bullied is still seen as something extraordinary and unusual. To me, the most important thing is the message, that no one should be left alone to deal with bullies.”
