Finland’s Participation in European Integration Processes and the Position of the USSR (1950s — early 1960s)

Relations between Finland and the USSR in the 1950s and 1960s were complicated by the negative assessment in the Soviet Union of the domestic political situation in Finland and Finland’s desire to participate in European integration processes. The USSR was aware of the limitations of its own ability to completely block Finland’s negotiations on joining the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The interest of President Urho Kalev Kekkonen in supporting Moscow for re-election in 1962, as well as the understanding of Finland’s geopolitical position demonstrated by the EFTA member states, determined the length of the process of Finland’s entry into integration processes and Finland’s special status.