Enlargement

Finland’s greatest challenge during the presidency was to ensure that EU-Turkey relations did not go off the rails.

Finland tried for months to persuade Turkey to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot flag carriers, in return for opening direct trade with Turkish northern Cyprus. Despite the efforts of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose father was the first United Nations envoy to the island, their efforts failed. By pushing so hard for a deal between the two sides the Finns opened themselves to criticism that, if they succeeded, they would make a comprehensive solution more difficult and if they did not reach a deal, that they pushed the sides further apart. But the expected train-crash appears to have been averted.

Kosovo, billed as another major challenge for the Finnish presidency, did not feature as prominently as expected. The delay to the UN’s report on Kosovo’s final status pushed the crunch point beyond the Finnish presidency. The EU is still divided on what the future status of the province should be. The repercussions of the Finns’ failure to build a wider consensus have yet to be felt.

Finland’s greatest challenge during the presidency was to ensure that EU-Turkey relations did not go off the rails.