Arja Makkonen is the newly arrived ambassador of Finland to Ukraine.
She is familiar with the region, having worked in Russia and Poland before. In an interview with the Kyiv Post, in her residence not far from Khreshchatyk Street, Makkonen shared her thoughts on why Ukraine has developed in a different way from Finland, even though the two countries share some common history, having been ruled by the czarist Russian Empire.
She also told about her country’s experience of balancing the two major neighbors during the Soviet times – the West and the Soviet Union – and what Ukraine could learn from this experience.
Kyiv Post: How do you like working in Ukraine, compared to Russia where you most recently worked?
Arja Makkonen: In Russia, I was number two at the embassy. This involved more management, budget and coordinating things. There we have quite a big embassy. Here I’m an ambassador. I’m responsible for everything. So in that sense it’s a little bit different of a position. Our embassy here is, of course, smaller. It is less than 20 people. Before Moscow I worked in Warsaw. I was number two there as well. When I was in Warsaw I got interested in Ukraine, because it was the time of the [2004] Orange Revolution. I am still waiting to see the country. So far I have only been in Kyiv and Odessa. I will start travelling after Christmas.
KP: Did the diplomatic term of previous ambassador Christer Michelsson, who spoke fluent Ukrainian, expire? Do you plan to learn Ukrainian as well?
AM: We usually have four-year terms. [After his term expired], he returned to Finland. He continues in the Foreign Ministry. I have taken so far 25 lessons of Ukrainian. I think I understand Ukrainian language by about 50 percent from knowing Russian and Polish. Of course, I have to learn the verbs.
KP: One of the most talked about topics between diplomats is the strained relations between Ukraine and the European Union ahead of the Dec. 19 EU-Ukraine summit. What does Ukraine need to do to secure the association agreement deal with the EU?
AM: At the moment, the deep and comprehensive free trade agreement has been technically negotiated. The association agreement has been negotiated almost to the end. But of course as you know there have been quite strict and harsh criticism from the European Union’s part, especially from Catherine Ashton [High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy], of the trials concerning members of the previous government. These conditions which we have at the moment are very challenging.
British Ambassador Leigh Turner (L) talks wth European Union Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira. On Dec. 6, the Finnish Embassy hosted a reception to celebrate Finland’s Independence Day. Ambassadors, diplomats, politicians and others attended the event at the residence of Finnish Ambassador Arja Makkonen. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin)
KP: Will the current political situation in Ukraine, being criticized in the West, affect a potential visa-free regime for Ukrainians going to the EU?
AM: The negotiations on visa facilitation are going on. I don’t think they are being affected. This is about people, about citizens and their right to move. Visa liberalization definitely has to happen. At the same time all the measures from the Ukrainian side have to be fulfilled – the biometrics, so that the passports are secure and so on. Mobility is one of the key issues that we have between the European Union and Ukrainians.
KP: How would you evaluate Finnish-Ukrainian political relations?
AM: Our relations are good. We have had in the past couple of years quite a lot of high-level visits.
KP: How developed are economic relations between Finland and Ukraine?
AM: They should be developing much better. Our exports here are less than 500 million euros. Imports from Ukraine are around 50 million euros. It is rather low. Concerning investments, at the moment, we are close to 100 million euros in cumulative foreign direct investment. I have got some inquiries from Finnish companies that would like to invest, but they are hesitant because of the investment climate. Many of our companies have been concentrating on the Russian market, because it’s a huge one. I haven’t heard of [Ukrainian investments going to Finland.]
KP: How do Finnish companies find working in Ukraine? What problems do they experience?
AM: As an ambassador I would say that Ukraine is a lucrative market. You have a big country with 46 million consumers. Its location in Europe is excellent. So everything is there. Then there comes the “but,” because I cannot lie to businesspeople who ask me about Ukraine. The business climate is definitely not one of the best. What our companies want [is] predictability, a stable environment and, of course, a legal system that works. Corruption is one thing that we are not used to. In many cases we shake hands and deal is done. Here it doesn’t work like that. But it has to be said that those companies who are ready to take some risks can make a lot of money here. So it’s a tradeoff in a way.
KP: How many Finns live in Ukraine, and how many Ukrainians live in Finland? Do Finns find the Ukrainian language as tough to learn as Ukrainians find Finish?
AM: At the moment we issue around 12,000 visas for Ukrainians per year, which is not very much. If we compare to Russia, this year we will issue around 1.2 million visas to Russians. In Finland people know perhaps too little about Ukraine. Very few [Finns live in Ukraine]. We have something like 50 registered. Of course not everybody registers at the embassy. I heard the number of 2,000 [Ukrainians living in Finland], which is not big either. I think there are not so many people who speak Ukrainian in Finland.
KP: Ukraine and Finland used to be parts of Russian Empire. But since 1945, Finland managed to develop greatly. What prevented Ukraine from achieving similar results?
AM: That’s a tough question. One thing might be that we Finns have been able to stand for one goal – we wanted to be independent, we faced a bad economic situation in 1991-1992. People got united in those bad days. And of course equality in the society, that’s very important. Finish society is quite equal.
KP: Finland was a neutral country during the Soviet period, seen by some as being the “grey zone” between the West and the Soviet Union. Are there any lessons for Ukraine to learn from Finland’s attempt to balance relations between two major neighbors?
AM: You have to be able to find the right path and see what is in the best interest of the country. Of course, it is not always easy to balance, because you have to take so many different opinions into account. But of course the consensus of the goal is important. We try to talk to different partners, and try to see what interests of our country are. And straight talk, that’s always a good beginning.
KP: Will you celebrate Christmas in Kyiv, or will you go to Finland?
AM: We will stay in Kyiv, because it’s nice to see how the Ukrainian Christmas will be. In Finland it’s usually just the family during Christmas Eve. Christmas is very quiet. All shops are closed. My impression is that here it’s more outdoors and you can still go shopping if you want to.
Kyiv Post staff writer Maryna Irkliyenko can be reached at [email protected].
