Another form of “Finlandization” has apparently plagued the Eurozone over the weekend and is now viewed as the main obstacle towards achieving a new bailout deal with crisis-stricken Greece, one that would avert the east Mediterranean country’s euro membership meltdown.
According to numerous media reports, backed by statements by Finnish leadership, Helsinki is leading the bloc of Eurozone members who are opposed of the latest reforms-for-cash proposal tabled by the Greek government. In fact, PM Alexis Tsipras and his government have been authorized by Parliament — 251 MPs out of 300 — to achieve a last-ditch deal with European creditors.
The Finnish stance is alternately viewed as “cover” for bigger EZ states’ opposition, a result of a fragile government coalition with an intensely euro-skeptic partner or a continuing clash of European mentalities — the extreme Nordic viewpoint versus the southern Mediterranean outlook.
Here’s how Greek cartoonist Arkas viewed the Finnish stance, using the Scandinavian country’s unofficial mascot… Santa Claus, who holds a gift in his hands, and tells a bewildered child:
“Well, what guarantees will you give me?”
Stubb
Earlier on Sunday after an avalanche of media scrutiny, Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb, described as the leading “heavy” in Saturday’s Eurogroup deliberations, said he was “still hopeful” for a deal on the Greek crisis, although the two sides were “still very, very far away.”
Stubb said that on a scale of 1-to-10, Greece and its 18 partners in the eurozone were only “somewhere between 3 and 4″ in terms of clinching a deal.
Moreover, he denied that the formerly Cold War “neutral” was blocking an agreement, saying all countries were trying to find an exit from a “very difficult situation.”
Sipila
Along the same lines, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila denied that his coalition government was teetering due to disagreements over a Greek bailout deal.
Speculation has focused on the (True) Finns Party, which has previously campaigned for a Grexit.
“Absolutely not, no way. You’re living in a world of rumors,” Sipila told reporters in Helsinki on Sunday. “The government took a totally united stand.”
The head of the nationalist Finns Party, Foreign Minister Timo Soini, refused to comment on the Greek question, saying that the pledge of secrecy made by government members will stand.
In numbers, Finland a lesser shareholder than Greece
As strange as it may sound, Greece (2,79%) is a bigger shareholder of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) than Finland (1,78%), based on participation. Here are some of the others: Austria (2,76%), Cyprus (0,19%), Estonia (0,18%), Ireland (1,59%), Latvia (0,27%), Lithuania (0,40%), Luxembourg (0,24%), Malta ( 0,072%), Portugal (2,49%), Slovakia (0,81%) and Slovenia (0,42%).
Finland, the Baltic “heavyweights” and Slovakia, all in the “hard-line” category — all more recent additions to a united Europe after decades of … other paths, total 3.44% of the fund’s total.
Major players include France (20,2%), Germany (26,9%), Italy ( 17,8%), the Netherlands (5,6%) Spain 11,8% and Belgium συμμετοχή είναι το Βέλγιο (3,45%).
