Northern Europe: From the Cold War to Cooperation

Matti Anttonen, Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of Finland in Washington D.C.,asks: What has made Northern Europe the most dynamic region in post-cold-war Europe? What role did enlargement of the EU and NATO play? How do EU-Russia relations develop during the period? Is the Russian economic model sustainable and will Russian energy help to cut energy prices in the US? Is the Scandinavian model truly facing a crisis? What role does Finland play in all this? Lecture to be followed by Q & A and discussion.

Matti Anttonen served as Deputy Director General of the Eastern Division of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2001. He has also served as Director for Russian Affairs at the Ministry. In the early period of Finland’s EU-membership, Anttonen was responsible for EU-Russia relations and Russia-related trade policy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1991 to 1994, he dealt with trade policy questions at the Finnish Permanent Representation in Geneva. From 1987 to 1991, he was posted at the Finnish Embassy in Moscow.