Finland's Stubb says support for Ukraine and NATO, EU, UN roles remain priorities

President of Finland Alexander Stubb addressed the annual meeting of heads of mission in Helsinki on 25 August 2026 and opened by saying he had arrived from Ukraine that morning. He said President Volodymyr Zelensky's message was clear: Ukraine needs support for air defence, energy supply and financing.

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Stubb said much had happened in foreign and security policy since last year's ambassador conference, but support for Ukraine remained Finland's priority. He framed his remarks around three main instruments for Finnish foreign policy: NATO, the European Union and the United Nations.

He said Finland's foreign policy must be active in those three institutions as well as bilaterally. He described the current period as one of profound change in which technology, the economy and security are becoming more closely linked and are reshaping the international order.

According to Stubb, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies have moved to the forefront of power politics. He said they have become strategic resources that affect economic competitiveness, political power and defence capabilities.

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He also said economic competition has become more intense and more political. In his remarks, economic and technological dependencies were described as security policy issues.

Stubb said the war in Europe has refocused attention on security. He also said shifts in United States policy require allies in Europe, the Middle East and the Indopacific to assume greater responsibility for their own security and for regional security.

He said the current US administration takes a transactional approach and does not operate according to the rules of cooperation that Finland and its partners have grown accustomed to. He said Finland must adapt to that reality while remaining true to its values.

The president said small countries cannot afford to sit on the sidelines of history. He said the transition under way contains risks that must be prepared for, but also opportunities to strengthen Finland's position and increase its influence.

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Stubb said Finland's influence is built through a strong network of bilateral relations and active engagement in international organisations. He said NATO, the EU and the UN are not simply institutions that hold endless meetings, but sources of power.

On NATO, Stubb said Finland has entered a new era in defence and is now building its defence together with allies. He said deterrence is the basis of Finnish defence and described NATO deterrence as consisting of conventional forces and capabilities, missile defence capabilities and nuclear weapons, complemented by space and cyber capabilities.

He said Finland joined NATO during a period of transition and rejected the idea that accession was an end point. He said Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a reset that allowed Finland to participate in building a renewed alliance, which he called NATO 3.0.

Stubb said the conclusion for Europe is clear: Europe must assume more responsibility for its own security and defence. He said the work to build a more European NATO is already under way and described the situation as a shift towards an era of strategic competition.

He said the Ankara Summit was a milestone, but that the process and destination remain open in many respects. He said Europe needs new capabilities and a new strategic culture, and that it must build strong European agency while preventing transatlantic decoupling.

The president said the role of the EU is growing and called it both an enabler and a comprehensive actor in its own right. He said defence is linked to the economy, technology and security, and that regional and bilateral cooperation are also becoming more important.

Stubb said Finland's NATO membership has strengthened its international standing and security. He said Finland is no longer waiting on the sidelines for NATO to become more European, but is actively working to build a stronger and more European NATO as part of the Alliance.

He also said Finland is building a more Finnish NATO now that it is a member. On Europe, he cited Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, saying new creative efforts are needed to safeguard peace in a world shaped by power politics.

He said Europe needs political capacity to act, economic strength, trade policy tools to safeguard citizens' welfare, and defence capabilities to protect itself against outside threats and reduce dependence on external actors. He said these measures are being promoted with urgency and that a more geopolitical Europe has emerged.

Stubb said the EU remains attractive because it is stable and reliable, even if some see it as boring. He said nearly every country in Europe either wants to join the Union or draw closer to it, and that the EU should use that position.

He argued for flexible integration rather than an all-or-nothing approach. He said this should apply to the speedy integration of Ukraine and to bringing partners such as Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada and Iceland as close to the EU as possible.

Turning to the United Nations, Stubb said this year's UN General Assembly High-level Week will be particularly significant. He said it matters for the UN, which is trying to maintain its status and credibility, and for Finland, which has just launched its campaign for a seat on the Security Council.

He said the UN stands at a crossroads and that the next Secretary-General will help determine whether the organisation grows stronger or loses relevance. He said many world leaders have doubts about the UN's ability to act, and that the Security Council has long been paralysed on the most crucial issues of war and peace.

Stubb said great powers act unilaterally without seeking authorisation from the Security Council, and he said a neighbour is waging a war that violates the most fundamental principles of the UN Charter. He said the UN is largely absent in mediation efforts at a time of more conflict and violence than at any point since the Second World War.

He said he has been reading memoirs of former UN Secretaries-General and highlighted U Thant and Kofi Annan as examples of active and skilled diplomats. He said the next Secretary-General must work with member states to restore the organisation's credibility and that Finland must play an active role in that effort.

Stubb said Finland cannot simply walk away from the multilateral, rules-based international system. He said the situation is challenging but not insurmountable and rejected claims that multilateralism is dead, saying a world without rules is not an option.

He said the real contest is over the rules that will shape international relations in the future and said this will directly affect Finland's interests. He named international law, including the prohibition on the use of force, territorial integrity and human rights, as fundamental pillars Finland must continue to defend.

The president said Finland is seeking a seat on the Security Council at a critical moment as the future direction of the world order is being decided. He said Finland can exert influence through skilful diplomacy, alliance-building and initiative, even as a small non-permanent member.

He said Finland has a reputation as a bridge-builder and as a competent, consistent and reliable partner. He added that stronger multilateralism may in many areas run through plurilateralism, including flexible coalitions around issues of interest to Finland.

Stubb told ambassadors to act with courage and initiative and said the three institutions are tools of Finnish foreign and security policy that must be used boldly. He also said maintaining a strong network of bilateral relationships is just as important.

He listed deep and trusted ties with the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, the United States and Europe's leading powers as the foundation of Finnish foreign policy. He said Finland and its partners can also do more through broader networks, partnerships and markets.

Stubb said the centre of economic and political power is shifting towards the Global South and said Finland and the EU must respond accordingly. He said Finland has perhaps never been as globally connected as it is today.

He closed by saying that as Russia continues its illegal war of aggression, supporting Ukraine remains a key priority of Finnish foreign and security policy. He said Ukraine has chosen a European and transatlantic future and that Finland supports its goal of joining the EU and NATO.

Stubb said Russia is and will remain Finland's neighbour and that after the war ends, Finland was set set to begin to redefine the relationship from a new position. He said Finland is no longer alone, but part of the world's strongest military alliance, and that the border between Finland and Russia has become a border between NATO and Russia.

He said this need not mean an iron curtain and expressed hope for a functioning relationship as neighbours in the future. He said Russia's own actions will determine how that relationship evolves.

#NATO #Ukraine #SecurityCouncil #Multilateralism #Helsinki