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Finns are expected to vote in record numbers in June's European Parliament elections. In the last EU elections in 2019, the turnout was 40,80%. However, this figure is expected to increase significantly by up to 10 per cent in the upcoming elections, marking a significant increase in voter participation. The increased interest in voting in the 2024 EU elections compared to 2019 can be explained by several factors.
For Finns, a key factor for the 2024 EU elections is the significant change in the European security situation compared to 2019. Russia's attack on Ukraine, which began in 2022, has highlighted the importance of the EU as a guarantor of security and stability in democratic Western Europe.
Finns' interest in EU politics has also been partly increased by Finland's NATO membership, which began in spring 2023, and its impact on the European security architecture and the EU's role in the continent's defence policy. The rest of Europe is now often reminded that the country shares more than 1,300 kilometres of common border with Russia. This puts Finland in a much more sensitive geopolitical position than countries from which Russia is further away.
Until the Russian invasion, most Finns thought that the best way to keep in touch with Russia was to remain a non-aligned Western country. Russia's attack on Ukraine, as former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (centre-right coalition party) said, took off the masks. Obviously, Finland had to exchange the role of mediator with its unreliable neighbour for a real military alliance with the West. Finland has enough experience to know that Russia believes in nothing but force.
The Finns' awakening to a new reality is well illustrated by the fact that only a few months after Russia attacked Ukraine, 188 members of Finland's 200-seat parliament voted in favour of joining NATO.
NATO membership has given Finland security guarantees that if Finland is attacked, other NATO countries will come to its aid. This is a significant change from the previous policy of neutrality, in which Finland tried to avoid direct military alliances.
