Finland's yes pushes borders of EU to Russia

THE BORDERS of the European Union are to be extended north to the Arctic Circle and east to Russia from next year, following Finland's vote in favour of membership yesterday.

There had never been much doubt Finnish voters would accept the deal, and in the event 57 per cent said 'yes', with 43 per cent against. The promise of improved trade ties and greater security weighed heavily against doubts about the EU's democratic deficit and the plight of Finland's farmers.

Pro-EU parties in Sweden and Norway will be hoping the 'domino effect' will undercut opposition to membership in their countries, which are to hold referendums next month. Opinion in Sweden may well swing round to a 'yes' vote. But Norway still looks unhappy about the prospect. Austria has already approved membership.

There are now only a few sovereign states in Western Europe that are still outside the EU, bar Norway and Sweden. Malta has applied and is awaiting entry negotiations. Switzerland is not even in the European economic area, a halfway house for the enlargement four plus Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Andorra has only recently joined the club of sovereign nations.

The consequences of Finnish entry are less weighty for the EU than they are for the Finns themselves. It is a momentous step into Europe for a country that emerged from the Russian empire only 80 years ago, which was invaded by Russia during the Second World War, and which spent the Cold War decades in the shadow of its giant neighbour.

Because of Finland's links with both East and West, its language - shared only by the Estonians - and its unique cultural background still fuels its insecurity about the future.

The new border with Russia will bring some complications for European policy-making, since Finland is committed - for the moment - to staying outside Europe's defensive military alliances. But in Helsinki, defence and foreign-policy officials refuse to rule out any step in the future, and emphasise that the choice will be theirs - and theirs alone.

There have been few murmurs of discontent from Russia to Finland's EU entry.

Indeed, the main obstacle continues to be the EU's own inability to agree a budget for next year. The gridlock is caused by an esoteric row over Italian milk quotas. Without a budget, Spain is threatening to withhold ratification of enlargement because it wants to unlock the massive new cohesion funds that will help it to reduce the economic gap between its southern and northern states.

This clash emphasises that the arrival of four wealthy, liberal, northern states will shift the centre of gravity of Europe away from its two defining axes - the Rhine and the Mediterranean. And once these four states are dealt with, the next step the EU will have to take will be to prepare for the divisive issue of admitting Central Europe.

(Photograph omitted) Leading article, page 15