HELSINKI, Feb 4 (Reuters) — Finland's President Alexander Stubb told parliament that Finland and Europe must face the reality that the United States is changing and that the ideology driving the current U.S. administration's foreign policy "conflicts with our own values."
Stubb said European NATO members, including Finland, have been reassessing their foreign-policy approaches in recent weeks after a spat in January between U.S. President Donald Trump and Denmark over Greenland heightened tensions with European allies.
"We must honestly acknowledge that the United States is undergoing change. Its approach to its allies, as well as its way of conducting foreign policy, is also changing," Stubb said, while underlining that the United States remains "an important ally."
He added that the current U.S. administration pursues a foreign policy grounded in an ideology that at times undermines the existing international order, operates outside established international institutions and downplays Europe’s importance — positions that clash with Finnish and broader European values.
Stubb has worked to maintain close ties with President Trump to secure U.S. backing for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion and to strengthen Finland's security as a neighbor of Russia.
Finland will update its foreign and security policy doctrine to reflect shifts in the global security environment, Stubb said, but he gave no timeline for the review and noted that cooperation with the government on the process has only just begun.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen)
