Brussels, 06/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - Conservative Sauli Niinistoe was elected President of Finland on Sunday 5 February, overcoming his Environmentalist Liberal opponent Pekka Haavisto by 62.6% of votes cast to 37.4%. Both candidates had run pro-European and pro-euro campaigns, though this latter area no longer falls within the responsibilities of the president, since the reform of October 2011. “Finland has built a position for itself in the world thanks to its membership of the European Union and the eurozone”¸ was a message driven home during the campaign by Niinistoe, who, as Finance Minister between 1996 and 2003, led his country into the single currency.
His victory was hailed by many Europeans. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said he hoped the new president would continue “to make a positive contribution to the European debate”. Niinistoe “is an experienced and highly capable politician, he is a true European. I warmly congratulate and look forward to working with him”, said European Parliament President Martin Schulz. Pointing out that both candidates in the second round of the elections favoured European integration, he went on to say that this “is a signal that Finland is fully engaged member of the European Union”. EPP leader Wilfried Martens said he was pleased to see that, during the election campaign, “the leading candidates had pro-European platforms and that European values continue to be a beacon in Finnish politics”. France's Minister for European Affairs Jean Léonetti also argued that the fact that the two candidates in the second round were pro-European demonstrated that “the people of Europe continue broadly to believe in the EU”. (CG/transl.rt)