Cablegate: U/S Brown's Meeting with Finland's Interior

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000590

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2015
TAGS: ASEC PREL PTER KCRM KWMN FI EUN NATO EU
SUBJECT: U/S BROWN'S MEETING WITH FINLAND'S INTERIOR
MINISTER

Classified By: POLOFF DAVID ALLEN SCHLAEFER FOR REASON 1.4 (B)
and (D)

1. (C) Summary: U.S. Under Secretary of Homeland Security
Michael Brown and U.S. Ambassador to Finland Earle I.Mack met
with Finland's Interior Minister, Kari Rajamaki, on April 26
in Helsinki. Rajamaki told them that Finland was just
beginning its preparations for its fall 2006 EU Presidency;
during the Presidency, Finland would concentrate on external
and internal security issues in the context of EU
enlargement. Rajamaki said that Finland's chief security
concerns were transnational threats stemming from the
country's long border with Russia. He said that Finland was
particularly interested in playing an active role in the
creation of an EU Border Control Agency, and that he was
interested in learning from the U.S. experience of
consolidating many agencies into the Department of Homeland
Security. Under Secretary Brown said that the U.S. remained
very interested in Finland's dialogue with Russia on security
issues. He said that hoped the strong Finnish-U.S. bilateral
relationship could be used to increase information exchanges
in homeland security issues as well as strengthen
trans-Atlantic ties during Finland's EU Presidency.
Ambassador Mack thanked Rajamaki for his assistance with the
Embassy's security and for his role in the creation of
Finland's new national action plan to combat
trafficking-in-persons. Finally, Rajamaki expressed interest
in visiting the U.S. in the fall, and Under Secretary Brown
and Ambassador Mack agreed that a visit would be useful in
anticipation of Finland's upcoming EU Presidency. End
Summary.

2. (C) Under Secretary Brown, in Finland for the
GOF-hosted plenary session of NATO's Senior Civil Emergency
Preparedness Committee, called on Interior Minister Rajamaki
at the latter's invitation. Minister Rajamaki said that
Finland was already preparing for its upcoming fall 2006 EU
Presidency. He said that the primary security issue for the
EU's future concerned the enlargement question. Future
enlargement plans should increase the EU's external security,
but in a manner that does not diminish homeland security and
recognizes the unique nature of transnational threats such as
terrorism, trafficking-in-persons, illegal immigration, and
health issues. Rajamaki said that for Finland, the main
concern was the 1350 kilometer border with Russia. The
Interior Minister said that Finnish-Russian cooperation was
good at all levels, but that Finland was always searching for
ways to involve Russia in regional and multilateral processes
aimed at improving border security, such as the Baltic Sea
State Task Force of which Finland is currently President.
Rajamaki said that he had visited Moscow in November for
extensive consultations with Russian counterparts, and that
Finland planned to host a similar round of EU-Russia
consultations on security issues during Finland's 2006 EU
Presidency.

3. (C) Rajamaki said that trafficking-in-persons (TIP) had
become one of Finland's main concerns as regards border
security issues. Finland was not the primary route for human
trafficking into the Schengen Area, but the problem was
increasing. The minister opined that Finns had not taken the
issue as seriously in the past as they should have, but that
this had changed since the recent release of Finland's new
national action plan to combat TIP. Rajamaki referred to a
recent case involving a busload of Georgian women attempting
to use Finland as a "Schengen gateway" to facilitate labor
trafficking or smuggling as an example of the problem Finland
faces. He also said that Chinese organized crime syndicates
had begun to use Finland as a transit point for trafficking
and smuggling to western Europe, the U.S., and Canada.
Rajamaki said that Finland was playing a leading role in the
formulation of the new EU Border Control Agency, and hoped
that a Finn would be selected to lead the new organization.
Finally, Rajamaki said that all of these problems highlighted
the need for increased cooperation among EU countries and the
U.S., and said that he hoped Finland could work closely with
the U.S. on Justice and Home Affairs issues during the fall
2006 Presidency and help strengthen trans-Atlantic relations.

4. (C) Secretary Brown said that he appreciated Finland's
willingness to proactively approach these issues of shared
concern. He said that he hoped Finland's EU Presidency would
create opportunities to improve U.S.-EU relations. He also
said that he hoped the strong U.S.-Finnish bilateral
relationship could be used to strengthen information
exchanges on homeland security issues during the Presidency.
Brown said that the ability to respond to civilian
emergencies is always a common talking point irrespective of
positions on certain other policy issues. He said that the
U.S. was very interested in Finland's continued dialogue with
Russia. He also said that the U.S. would be pleased to
assist with information exchanges about border security
issues; the new SMART border initiative along America's
Canadian and Mexican borders might suggest some best
practices that Finland and the EU could use as the new EU
Border Control Agency was developed.

5. (C) Rajamaki said that he had followed the creation of
the Homeland Affairs "Super ministry" with great interest.
He said although the EU could not hope to create such a
ministry, there was a great need for EU nations and
institutions involved in homeland affairs to cooperate more
effectively. Rajamaki asked Brown if he could share any
ideas based on his experience at DHS that might prove useful
to the EU as regards institution-building. Secretary Brown
replied that the consolidation of 22 different agencies into
the DHS was one of the largest "mergers" in American history,
and that the challenges were tremendous. He said that it was
necessary to strictly prioritize goals through risk analysis
and distribute resources accordingly; otherwise, resources
would be spread thinly across competing demands of varying
importance. Brown told Rajamaki that communication was
essential, both within an evolving organization composed of
previously distinct entities, as well as externally. Brown
also said that lessons could often be broadly applied to
different situations; for instance, preparation for
terrorist attacks might find useful applications during
evacuations following natural disasters.

6. (C) Ambassador Mack thanked Rajamaki for his assistance
with the Embassy's security. He also thanked Rajamaki for
his strong support for Finland's new national action plan to
combat trafficking. The Ambassador said that the plan's
focus on victim assistance and victims' rights corresponded
to U.S. views about the best way to fight this shared
problem, and told Rajamaki that we looked forward to
continuing to work with the GoF on this issue in the future.
The Ambassador also asked Rajamaki about his interest in
visiting the U.S., which the Minister's office had previously
indicated was a priority for him. Rajamaki replied that he
was indeed interested in an official visit to the U.S. in the
fall of this year, perhaps in late September. He said that
he wished to do this well in advance of Finland's EU
Presidency in order to consult with American counterparts
while Finland's agenda was still being formulated.
Ambassador Mack and Under Secretary Brown agreed that this
could be a useful visit and promised to do whatever they
could to assist with the necessary arrangements.
MACK

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