Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen have disagreed over a review of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, Supo, after Rantanen said she learned only this week that the process had already started.<\/p>\n
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Helsingin Sanomat<\/a> reported that the Prime Minister\u2019s Office decided in June to launch the review and that its mandate began at the start of August.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Rantanen told the newspaper that she was informed of the process only on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n She described the procedure as improper and called for the government to discuss its internal rules.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Rantanen said a review concerning an agency under another ministry should not have started without informing the ministry\u2019s political and senior civil service leadership.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been an extremely inappropriate way of operating,\u201d she told Yle<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Helsingin Sanomat reported that the decision establishing the review states that the Interior Ministry knew about the project. Rantanen said neither its political leadership nor its top civil service leadership had been aware of it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Orpo rejected her criticism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cAs prime minister, I have every right to commission reviews concerning the division of responsibilities within the government,\u201d he told Yle in a written statement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n He said discussions had taken place at civil service level and that the Interior Ministry\u2019s permanent secretary had known about the review. According to Iltalehti<\/a>, Orpo also said Supo\u2019s director had taken the initiative in the matter.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Orpo told Iltalehti that Rantanen should \u201cput some ice in her hat\u201d, a Finnish expression meaning she should calm down, and said the Interior Ministry should examine why information had not reached her.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Rantanen responded in Imatra that she had expected Orpo to contact her before the review began. Ilta-Sanomat<\/a> quoted her using an expletive to describe her reaction when she learned about the process.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n She also questioned whether the outcome of the review had already been decided, given Orpo\u2019s earlier support for moving Supo under the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Rantanen wants Supo to remain under the Interior Ministry. She has cited costs and cooperation between security authorities as reasons for keeping the current structure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The dispute follows a proposal this week by outgoing Foreign Ministry State Secretary Jukka Salovaara to transfer Supo to the Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n
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