Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo during a press conference at the North-South Summit in Saariselkä, Lapland, Finland, 22 December 2024. Photo: Reuters
Russia poses a “constant threat” to the European Union and its member states, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said. Speaking at a summit on security and migration in Helsinki, Orpo stressed the need to increase support for Ukraine and increase defence spending, AFP reports.
The summit was attended by leading European leaders, including the head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, Prime Ministers of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, Italy’s Georgia Meloni and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“The security situation has changed,” said Orpo. “Russia is a constant and dangerous threat to the European Union and to European countries. Europe must strengthen its defences in every way possible, explore financial options and be prepared for a long-term struggle for stability.”
European Diplomacy Chief Kaja Kallas supported Orpo’s position, noting that Russia poses a “direct threat” to European security. She emphasised that hybrid attacks are being carried out across Europe, including sabotage, cyber attacks, GPS navigation disruptions, damage to submarine cables in the Baltic Sea, and even the use of migration flows as a political tool.
Orpo also mentioned the incidents on the Finnish-Russian border, where in autumn 2023 there was an influx of about 1,000 illegal migrants. Finland accused Russia of deliberately organising this crisis.
“Ensuring the security of the border with Russia is a matter of existence for Finland, as well as for other EU and NATO countries,” the Finnish prime minister concluded.
These statements came amid growing tensions in the region and reaffirm Europe’s determination to counter threats from Russia in all possible dimensions.
