Ukraine EU membership should be seen as one of Europe’s most important security guarantees, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said at the Kultaranta Talks (Kultaranta-keskustelut) in Naantali, placing Kyiv’s accession path at the centre of his broader vision for Europe’s future security order.
Speaking at the annual foreign and security policy forum hosted by the President of the Republic of Finland (Tasavallan presidentti), Stubb said Europe should move towards a wider political and strategic framework: a group of around 40 countries with close relations not only inside the European Union, but also with partners outside the bloc, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Turkey.
Ukraine EU membership becomes a security guarantee
Stubb’s central point was that Ukraine’s accession to the European Union should not be treated only as an enlargement question. In his view, it is also part of the architecture of European security. By linking Ukraine’s future EU membership to the concept of security guarantees, the Finnish president placed enlargement within the wider debate on how Europe should protect itself after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The remark adds a political and institutional dimension to a debate that is often framed in military terms. Security guarantees for Ukraine are usually associated with deterrence, long-term defence commitments and support against possible renewed Russian aggression. Stubb’s formulation suggests that anchoring Ukraine inside the EU would also strengthen Europe’s own security by binding Kyiv more closely to the continent’s legal, economic and democratic structures.
For Finland, the argument carries particular weight. The country joined NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has become one of the Nordic voices most clearly linking Ukraine’s survival to Europe’s wider security. Stubb has repeatedly framed support for Kyiv not only as solidarity with Ukraine, but as a direct European interest.
Stubb’s wider Europe now has Ukraine at its centre
The idea of a wider Europe is not new in Stubb’s recent public speeches. As we reported earlier this month in an article on Stubb’s “EU nerd” vision, the Finnish president has already argued that Europe should think more ambitiously about enlargement, flexible membership and closer ties with countries such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Iceland, Turkey and even Canada.
His comments at Kultaranta move that discussion one step further. The previous argument was about scale: Europe, in Stubb’s view, needs size and strategic weight in a more unstable world. The new emphasis is about security: Ukraine’s EU path is not only one item in a broader enlargement agenda, but one of the guarantees that could shape Europe’s future order.
That distinction matters. A 40-country Europe can sound like an institutional thought experiment. Ukraine’s membership, by contrast, is tied to an ongoing war, a future peace settlement and the question of whether Europe can build a stable security structure after Russia’s aggression.
Enlargement and defence are becoming harder to separate
Ukraine formally began EU accession negotiations in June 2024, after EU leaders agreed in December 2023 to open talks. The process is still expected to be long and politically complex. It requires reforms in areas such as the rule of law, public administration, anti-corruption policy and minority rights, as well as unanimous approval from EU member states at key stages.
The debate has become more urgent because Ukraine sees EU membership as part of its long-term security settlement. European leaders, however, have not agreed on a fixed accession date. Some governments support rapid integration, while others warn that the process must remain based on reforms and institutional readiness.
Stubb’s intervention adds pressure to the political side of the enlargement debate. It suggests that delaying Ukraine’s path indefinitely would not only affect Kyiv, but also Europe’s ability to build a credible post-war security order. In that sense, enlargement and defence are becoming increasingly difficult to separate.
Finland’s Nordic view of European security
The Kultaranta Talks are one of Finland’s main annual forums for foreign and security policy discussion. This year’s programme focuses on a changing world, with political leaders, researchers, officials, business representatives and media figures invited to the president’s summer residence in Naantali.
Stubb’s comments also show how Finland’s view of Europe has changed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finnish foreign policy has traditionally combined EU membership, close Nordic cooperation and a careful reading of Russia. Since joining NATO, Helsinki has increasingly framed European security as a combined effort involving the EU, NATO and broader partnerships.
For the Nordic and Baltic region, Ukraine’s position is not a distant question. Russia’s war has reshaped defence planning, energy policy, border security and the political debate on enlargement. Stubb’s message is that Europe’s future security cannot be built around Ukraine from the outside. It must include Ukraine as part of the system itself.
Whether EU governments are ready to turn that idea into a concrete accession timeline remains uncertain. But Stubb’s intervention makes clear that, for Finland, Ukraine EU membership is no longer only about enlargement. It is part of the security guarantees Europe wants for Ukraine, and part of the security guarantees Europe needs for itself.
