New Finland PM on first visit to Estonia

Alexander Stubb, Finland’s new prime minister, is on a visit to Estonia today to meet Estonian leaders, his first foreign visit since taking office as the head of government, ERR reports.

The 46 year old Stubb will meet Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, the Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The meetings will discuss Estonia’s and Finland’s bilateral ties and the current issues of the European Union, as well as regional security and energy co-operation.

According to the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, Finnish prime ministers traditionally make their first foreign visit to Sweden, but Estonia was chosen by Stubb for scheduling reasons and he plans to visit Sweden in the near future.

While Finland is on the fence about joining NATO and President Sauli Niinistö has been skeptical of the idea, Stubb has voiced support for the move.

“I will advocate membership as long as it is sensible, regardless what the polls show. For me it is a question of values,” said Stubb in April, when running for the European Parliament, and also pointed out that 94 percent of the EU's population is in NATO.