Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister is invited to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to participate to the This is Europe debate. After the debate, Sanna MARIN and Roberta METSOLA, EP President, hold a joint press conference.

Strasbourg

plenary session

press conference

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Finland (T)

MARIN, Sanna (FI)

president's agenda

This is Europe Debate (T)

Joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister, following "This is Europe" debate

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, First of all, I'm very happy to welcome the prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin to the European Parliament. We just had a very, very comprehensive broad overview in the debate. Both with the prime minister's speech and then followed by a round of political group leaders and then the answers by the prime minister.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, We know how challenging these last weeks and months have been. Finland is a country that I know and I love. And I'm so proud and pleased to see it leading the debate at this very critical point in Finland and in Europe's future.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, The debate was one of a series of the debates that is called This is Europe, it allowed us to exchange views on how we see Europe and how we want it to develop further. We also, Sanna and myself, had a very good bilateral meeting this morning earlier.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, At this crucial time, we need to keep standing up for the values that make Europe what it is and worth fighting for. And Finland understands only too well how real the challenges that we all face are and what is at risk on our continent. Ukraine and Ukrainians are defending these values and our support must remain unwavering. We cannot give into war fatigue or Russian disinformation. And Ukraine deserves and needs all the humanitarian, military and political support that we can provide.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And I am proud that this week the European Parliament will adopt five billion euros of macro financial assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we must also understand that when inflation, prices of gas and electricity are soaring, people worry and we must cushion this blow on our citizens, on our populations.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And there are things that we can do together, even temporarily, to limit the impact while we implement long term strategies and therefore we look forward to the Commission presenting the concrete proposals tomorrow. But what is clear is that we can no longer afford to depend on undependable actors. We can no longer afford energy islands and we can no longer delay our green transition.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Second, work must start immediately to build a real security and defence union that is complementary to NATO. There are Finland's historic decision to join NATO, together with Sweden, will strengthen security in northern Europe and in the Baltic Sea area. And I welcome this decision because a Russian aggression in Ukraine shows the need for us to cooperate more closely and stick together.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, These are decisions that we need to take and decisions we need to implement. Now, what we cannot do is delay. And I am convinced that Finland will play a central role in shaping and leading the future of a more resilient, more united Europe, because together we can achieve more. I'll stop here and hand over to Sanna, dear Prime Minister, then all of us be ready to answer your questions.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister, My visit to the European Parliament was long overdue and it was planned way, way ahead. But I'm very glad to be here today, finally. This truly is the political soul of the Union and a driving force of European integration. I'm very pleased to be finally here in Strasbourg. It was a great honour to discuss with the parliament today. Thank you for the invitation, dear Roberta.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister, In my speech, I stressed the need to support Ukraine and to continue doing so no matter what. Russia must not win the war and we will not allow this to happen. Over the weekend, we have heard the great news about the success of Ukrainian forces against the Russian army. Yet our help will still be needed for a long time. Europeans must stay committed to this effort.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister, As leaders, we need to build and rebuild this unity all the time. The winter will be difficult. We see high energy prices already creating political division. Inflation will test many European societies, but we really have no choice but to stay united. Russia's use of energy as a weapon is behind these problems. It is also clear that we must carry on with the transition. Yet we must do so in a fair manner so that no one will be left behind.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sanna MARIN, Finnish Prime Minister, In this context, let me stress once more the importance of making the European Union stronger. Developing the EU's strategic autonomy is a necessity, not a luxury. We are not there yet. Developing strategic autonomy requires action across all policy fields. A more systematic approach is needed because of Russia's war against Ukraine is the final wake up call that the EU must be able to stand on its own two feet when needed. Thank you so much, Roberta, dear friends.

Q&A, Regarding Finland's position on the treaty change and foreign policy.

Q&A, Follow up question on the NATO membership.

Q&A, Regarding the advice that could be given young women who want to get into politics.

Q&A, Regarding the possibility of harsher sanctions for Russia. Second question regarding the gas price cap.

Q&A, On the election of the new Secretary General of the European Parliament.

Q&A, On the upcoming elections in Italy and how the results might impact the cooperation with Italy on a European level.