Scotland's links to the Nordic Council look set to be strengthened following a meeting between an SNP MP and a member of the Finnish parliament.
Dunfermline and West Fife SNP MP Douglas Chapman has spoken with Finnish MP Mikko Karna to build on Scotland's relationship with its Scandinavian neighbours, following previous discussions in 2021.
Last year Karna asked if Scotland would be interested in becoming a member of the Scandinavian multi-government body. Following that approach Chapman attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Copenhagen last November, as an observer, to learn more about how the council operates.
After meeting with Michelle Thomson MSP and Karna in the Scottish Parliament recently, Chapman commented: “It was great to meet with Mikko at long last as Covid restrictions meant that we could only speak on Zoom, which is not quite the same as meeting up face to face.
"I was delighted to pick up on his suggestion that Scotland becomes a member of the Nordic Council as a lot of our values here chime with that of the likes of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. Outside of the UK the Nordic Council countries are some of our nearest neighbours with Shetland being closer to the Arctic Circle than it is to London.
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“While observing the Nordic Council at work I could see many opportunities for Scotland to contribute and given the Scandinavian way of working in co-operation and collaboration there are many lessons we can learn by being involved in their way of doing things better.
“The Aland Islands, Faroes and Greenland are all part of the family of Nordic nations but each has their own devolved powers parliament and while I don’t think Scotland will be joining as a full member anytime soon, I have written to the Nordic Council President to wish them well in their future plans and to let them know that the Scottish Government are about to open a representative office in Copenhagen.”
Speaking in the Finnish parliament, Karna said: “It was wonderful to be in Scotland and we enjoyed our few days in Edinburgh including our meeting at the Scottish Parliament with Douglas and Michelle.
“We got to see your First Minister’s question time and while the exchanges are more robust than we get in our parliament in Finland, I can see that there are many similarities between Scotland and Finland and the other Nordic countries I have visited.
“I have encouraged both Douglas and Michelle to keep up our links and see if we can work in collaboration on a range of issues which are of mutual interest. We see Scotland very much as a Nordic nation and perhaps one day Scotland will take its place amongst other like-minded Nordic nations and help us live, work and continue to create a harmonious relationship across the nations of Northern Europe.”
Thomson, who hosted the meeting at the Scottish Parliament, said: “We had a very fruitful exchange of views with Mikko as to how Scotland and Finland could further our national ties.
"As a member of the Scottish Parliament, I will always be looking outwards and forwards and it’s the medium sized nations in Europe, such as Finland and Scotland, who are proving to be the most adaptive in an uncertain world. It was very stimulating, and I look forward to further discussion.”
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