Martti Ahtisaari: A new face at the helm of Finland

Scandinavian Review, Autumn 1997 by Huuhtanen, Matti

The next historic decision facing Finland is whether to join the EU's Economic and Monetary Union in 1999, including a common currency for the 15-nation group. This is also Ahtisaari's territory, and he had made it clear that Finland should join, especially as it is one of the few countries that meet the entry requirements. In a report given to the 200-member parliament, the government has also signaled that it wants to get into the EMU. Legislators, who will eventually vote on EMU membership, have at times engaged in a heated debate on the issue. The president has followed the discussion with interest but has his own definite view, including about the possible disappearance of the Finnish currency, the mark, when a common European currency is adopted. He explains:

Now that we have credit cards and other bits of plastic we often don't even use money. I'm sure that it is more important for most people that money has purchasing power than what it's called. The world presumes that we are joining the EMU, so I think it's very important that we stick to that decision.

Matti Huuhtanen is the Associated Press Correspondent in Helsinki.