Åland, the Swedish People's Party, and the European Union: The Beginning of a Complicated Relationship

Abstract

Abstract This study provides an analysis of the positioning of Ålandic political leadership vis-à-vis the demands of representation in the European Union (EU) and the corresponding reactions of the Swedish People's Party (SFP) during the referendums on EU membership. By analyzing news articles from 1994, this study shows that the SFP had already sought to establish for itself a mediating role between Ålandic expectations and the political realities on the Finnish mainland during the period leading up to membership in the EU. Founded in 1906, the SFP has traditionally branded itself as the flag bearer of Swedish interests in Finland. On face value, one would assume a lot of common political ground between the Ålandic political context and the Finland Swedish efforts to maintain equal status for Swedish as a national language in an overwhelmingly Finnish-speaking country. However, relations between the SFP and Åland have not always been smooth. Most notably, the party refused to support the Åland Movement's attempts to join Sweden between 1917 and 1921 and was firmly positioned with the other Finnish parties in supporting the claims of the Finnish state during the Åland question. While the rupture between Åland and the SFP never truly healed, they have been able to reestablish new forms of cooperation over the years. All members of parliament (MPs) elected from Åland have sat with the SFP MPs in the Swedish Parliamentary Group. Additionally, Members of the European Parliament (MEP) from the SFP that have been elected since 1995 have consistently hired political assistants from Åland and unlike the other Finnish parties, have been committed to the idea that Åland should get an MEP for itself. This study summarizes the historical modes of cooperation between the SFP and Åland, with particular focus on the SFP's positioning regarding Ålandic demands of representation during the EU membership referendum process. This article shows that EU membership has created a new forum for conflict and cooperation between Åland and the SFP through the struggle for representation in the EU organs, namely the European Parliament. This crucial historical period is analyzed through the lens of “sovereignty games,” which allows for an analysis of the paradiplomacy of an autonomous region within a nation state through a national minority party. As a result, this study highlights the need for a differentiated account of the political interdependence of the SFP and Åland and the importance of avoiding interpreting one side's perspective from the standpoint of the other.