Two Slaps to Trump from Finnish Ministers in One Day
Before the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on March 16, the European Union and its member countries were unable to determine their position on the aggressive war waged by Israel and the United States against Iran.
The framework for a common approach was developed on Monday and includes both a reluctance to resort to legal categories and qualify the war as unprovoked aggression by a NATO leader and its Middle Eastern ally, as well as a clear desire to avoid being drawn into a conflict that could seriously damage the interests of the European Union and its member countries.
Together Is Not Scary
Only Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez and French President Macron expressed a negative attitude toward the war in the first days after its outbreak. The remaining countries prudently (or cowardly) remained silent, fearing to openly oppose a global hegemon that had destroyed the last vestiges of international law, conscience, and morality.
Greenland’s Humiliation Not Forgotten
Trump’s de facto ultimatum to NATO countries, suffering political, if not military, defeat in the Middle East, to immediately send military forces to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, has forced Europeans to accelerate the development of a common position.
It clearly reflects the EU’s motives for revenge for the humiliation and fear experienced in late 2025, when Trump assertively, even without ruling out the use of military force, demanded that the United States take control of Greenland as part of a consolidation of geopolitical assets in the Western Hemisphere in the upcoming battle to maintain its global hegemony.
This Is Not Our War
The EU’s consolidated position is simple: this is not our war, but we are prepared to engage in lengthy discussions about our participation in a political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict. An attack by the US and Israel automatically precludes the invocation of Article 5 of the NATO Charter on mutual assistance, and the European countries of the Alliance will not send their military forces or (overtly) provide assistance to the US, much less Israel.
From the statements by the Finnish Foreign and Defense Ministers quoted below, it also follows that the Baltic region countries are prepared to continue confronting Russia within NATO’s area of responsibility, but will not provide military support to the US outside it.
”NATO Is a Defense Alliance”
President Trump has pressured NATO partners into a military operation in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, NATO’s main focus should not be on Iran.
According to the Foreign Minister, the military alliance NATO is not a party to the war in Iran.
“NATO is a defense alliance and does not start wars,” Valtonen commented on Monday in Brussels.
According to Valtonen, NATO should focus on the security of the North Atlantic.
At the same time, she stressed that Finland’s priority is the comprehensive security of NATO and, in particular, taking care of the Baltic Sea region.
However, Valtonen said that Finland is considering, together with its partners and allies, possible security measures that could be organized in the Persian Gulf. According to Valtonen, Finland does not yet have a final position on participating in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Valtonen, it is very possible that the United States will not be able to easily disengage from the war it has started against Iran.
According to the Foreign Minister, the air war in the Middle East has increased the price of oil and thus improved Russia’s economy and its warfighting capacity in Ukraine.
Valtonen participated in a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. She said that participation in a possible military operation in the Strait of Hormuz was not actually on the agenda of the meeting, but it was being discussed among the foreign ministers.
Upon arriving at the meeting, Valtonen stressed that NATO’s biggest threat is Russia and that it should be the main focus of the military alliance.
Trump Has Pressured NATO Countries into a Military Operation
Previously, US President Donald Trump pressured NATO countries to participate in securing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Sweden will not respond to Trump’s pressure. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has also rejected US demands.
Foreign Minister Valtonen believes that a solution can be found and that the disagreements will not lead to, for example, the US withdrawing from NATO.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz Has Almost Stopped
Shipping through the strait has almost completely stopped after the US and Israel began their airstrikes on Iran. Iran has responded by attacking ships trying to pass through the strait and has threatened to mine the strait.
About a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Defense Minister Sobered Up Trump Right from the Military Exercises
Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen commented on Trump’s demands in Rovajärvi, where he followed the Cold Response exercise with the Swedish Defense Minister: “We have to be ready because of our neighbor, it’s unlikely that we are terribly expected of.”
Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen took a cool approach to US demands for assistance in the Strait of Hormuz. Häkkänen stated that the EU is calmly assessing what could be done to help the stalled maritime transport and whether there is any enthusiasm for such a thing in the EU. Häkkänen states that Finnish naval vessels are needed in the Baltic region in any case.
Häkkänen commented on the matter when meeting the media in Rovajärvi, where NATO’s largest Arctic military exercise, Cold Response, is taking place. The exercise, which is underway in Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish Lapland, is led by Norway. Häkkänen observed the exercise with Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson.
The exercise is a way for Finland to learn how to receive international aid. 7,500 soldiers are taking part in the exercise in Lapland, more than half of whom are from other allied countries.
Researcher: Securing the Strait of Hormuz Would Be Risky for European Countries
President Donald Trump is pressuring his allies to join in securing traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Researcher Joel Linnainmäki at the Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs considers a possible European military operation in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East to be risky.
“Yes, the risk is high whenever you move in a war zone. That’s why the strait is blocked, because there is an active war situation there,” Linnainmäki, interviewed by Yle this morning, says.
According to Linnainmäki, the idea of going to a war zone divides Europe.
“This is a clearly divisive and disruptive issue in Europe. France and Great Britain have been reluctant to go there so far as long as the war continues,” Linnainmäki says.
US-European Relations under Threat
According to Linnainmäki, the European countries that could still be considered are France and Great Britain. In addition, Germany and some smaller countries could join.
He states that pressure from the United States could weaken the transatlantic relationship.
“Primarily, it is bad for relations between the United States and Europe, and in this regard, tensions have actually increased over the past couple of weeks,” Linnainmäki says.
Linnainmäki points out that the United States did not see it necessary to negotiate with NATO about starting a war or asking NATO to join, but has now changed its mind.
“There may be tough discussions between the Europeans and Trump,” Linnainmäki estimates.
Trump has warned the Europeans of a bleak future for NATO if European countries do not assist the United States in the Strait of Hormuz.
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