Foreign Minister Tuomioja says Finland to remain non-aligned

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) says that systems of closer cooperation in defence and security policy matters in the European Union will not automatically shatter Finland's policy of military non-alignment At their meeting in Naples during the weekend the foreign ministers of the European Union countries discussed a proposal for mutual security guarantees for the EU member states. Finland voiced concern about one part of the proposal which could be seen as an obligation for a country to provide military aid in an emergency even without a specific request from the country that has been attacked. The disputed wording was changed when Finland, Sweden, and Ireland put forward an alternative that fell short of calling for automatic security guarantees. Tuomioja emphasised that no final agreements have been reached on EU defence