Finland’s new government has picked the leader of a Eurosceptic party as its new foreign and Europe minister. The selection of Timo Soini, who heads
ADVERTISEMENTFinland’s new government has picked the leader of a Eurosceptic party as its new foreign and Europe minister.
The selection of Timo Soini, who heads up The Finns, reinforces a hardline stance over euro zone bailouts.
Earlier this month, the 52-year-old, whose anti-bailout line spooked financial markets in the midst of the euro zone crisis, said it would make sense for troubled Greece to leave the euro bloc.
“Finland is an active, pragmatic and result-orientated member state. We will see, in a constructively critical and cooperative way, to combine the national and joint EU interest,” said Soini at a news conference.
The coalition government, including prime minister Juha Sipila’s Centre Party, The Finns Party and Stubb’s centre-right National Coalition Party, struck a deal after weeks of negotiations and is expected to be nominated on Friday.
The government is seeking cuts and reforms worth 10 billion euros by 2030, amid persistent problems in the economy and following the failures of the previous quarrelsome coalition.