Finland’s Stubb ’93 sees Brexit as ‘walking into the unknown’

Alexander Stubb, 1993 Furman Political Science graduate and former Prime Minister of Finland, wrote a piece about Brexit for Financial Times that spurred a call from the anchors of “Bloomberg Surveillance.” When asked by host Francine Lacqua if Brexit portends dissolution of the European Union, Stubb said he sees Brexit as an “opportunity for the EU to look in the mirror to see what we can do better.” Stubb enumerated five actions the EU could take toward reform: 1) Continue enlargement, 2) Defend values of democracy and freedom, 3) Promote the free movement of goods, services, money and people, 4) Focus on security, and 5) Reflect on the future of Europe.

Before serving as prime minister, Stubb served as Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and has been a member of the Finnish Parliament since March 2011. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland from 2008 to 2011, and Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2008. Prior to his political career, Stubb was Adviser to the President of the European Commission, Visiting Professor of the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and Counsellor and Researcher at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the European Union.