Finland’s Stubb calls for new European security arrangements
The Finnish president said NATO would remain vital, but Europe also needed measures to build trust with Russia and prevent further attacks on its neighbours.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb urged Europe to develop security arrangements aimed at preventing further Russian attacks on neighbouring countries, speaking at the College of Europe in Bruges on 26 October 2026. He said NATO would retain a vital role, alongside new processes to build confidence between Europe and Russia.
Addressing students, Stubb argued that wars and rivalry between the United States and China were undermining the international rules-based order. He described the period following the Cold War as over and compared the current turning point with 1945 and 1989.
Stubb said the choices made by Washington and Beijing between co-operation and confrontation would shape global security. Citing estimates of 65 conflicts or wars worldwide, he said the number exceeded that of any period since the Second World War.
Despite that assessment, he encouraged the students to remain ambitious rather than pessimistic. Stubb, who studied at the college in the 1990s, suggested that EU membership could expand from 27 countries to 40 over 30 years. That possibility included the UK returning to the bloc, with Norway, Moldova and Ukraine also joining.
