Olli Rehn

Questioned by the European Parliament, Rehn offered his thoughts on the prospects for accession of each of the countries highest on the enlargement agenda. He praised Turkey for the human rights advances it had made but said he would advocate stronger monitoring if the decision was taken to open accession talks by the European Council when it considered the question in December.

Asked about free movement of Turkish labour after the country's accession, Rehn expressed the view that there should be "considerable transitional periods as well as a permanent safeguard clause". He was cautious on the question of the inevitability of Turkish membership, stating that he did not "believe in historic determinism", but that if negotiations were begun, "underpinned by the commitment that [Turkey] will be able to join [the EU] once it fulfils all conditions, it will join as soon as it does meet the conditions".

He insisted that Bulgaria and Romania would be judged on their merits and that he would not hesitate to delay accession by a year if the EU's requirements were not met on time. He considered the establishment of a pre-accession strategy for the Western Balkans one of his prime tasks.

Olli Rehn giving a speech at 47th Munich Security Conference in 2011

Olli Rehn with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in 2012

In late June 2011, Rehn spoke out on austerity measures being considered by the Greek parliament, saying, "The only way to avoid immediate default is for parliament to endorse the revised economic program...The program includes both the medium-term fiscal strategy and the privatization program. They must be approved if the next tranche of financial assistance [a 12 billion euro aid payment] is to be released...To those who speculate about other options, let me say this clearly: there is no Plan B to avoid default".[8]

In May 2012, coincident with warnings from Mario Draghi of the ECB, Rehn said that even if Eurobonds "were ever approved, it would still not be sufficient to save the euro. The single currency’s members needed 'a genuine stability culture and a much upgraded common capacity to contain common contagion', if they wanted to avoid a disintegration of the eurozone and if they wanted it to survive".[9]

Rehn has continued to maintain that the only way out of the crisis is a continued programme of fiscal austerity. Economist Paul Krugman has been critical of this stance, saying in early 2013 that Olli Rehn, and the economic management of the European Commission, had been proven disastrously wrong in their predictions and management since the beginning of the crisis. He noted, "European leaders seem determined to learn nothing, which makes this more than a tragedy; it’s an outrage."[10] Krugman maintains that Rehn's focus on fiscal discipline is in fact an excuse to dismantle the social safety net and reduce the size of government, as he has criticized countries, such as France which have tried to achieve fiscal discipline through tax increases.[11]

In mid-2013, Rehn claimed that the European Commission was following a pragmatic policy balancing austerity policies with pro-growth policies and that much of the criticism was unfair.[12]

In 2015, Rehn was elected in the Finnish parliamentary election with 6,837 votes.[14] His term in the European Parliament ended on 27 April, when Rehn officially accepted the seat in the Finnish Parliament.[15] On 29 May 2015, Rehn was appointed the Minister of Economic Affairs in Sipilä Cabinet.[16] During his time in office, he oversaw the country's emergence from a three-year recession thanks to a combination of tax and spending cuts. He also played a key role in persuading labor unions to agree to pay cuts to restore competitiveness.[17]

On 14 October 2016, Rehn was selected to the board of the Bank of Finland.[18] In this capacity, he is in charge of monetary policy implementation and investment of the Bank of Finland's financial assets. He is also responsible for the bank's digitalisation process and for the activities of the Financial Supervisory Authority, where he is chairman of the board.[19] He continued as a minister and MP till the end of 2016.[20]

Following the resignation of Christine Lagarde as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2019, Rehn was one of the candidates considered by European governments as potential successor; he withdrew his candidacy shortly after[21] and the post went to Kristalina Georgieva instead.

In June 2023, Rehn announced his candidacy for 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate.[22]

• European Central Bank (ECB), ex officio member of the governing council[23]
• European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), ex officio member[24]
• International Monetary Fund (IMF), ex officio alternate member of the board of governors[25]
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), ex officio member of the board of governors (2010–2014)[26]

• Women Political Leaders Global Forum (WPL), member of the global advisory board[27]
• World Economic Forum (WEF), member of the Europe Policy Group (since 2017)[28]
• World Economic Forum (WEF), chairman of the Global Agenda Council on Public Finance and Social Protection Systems[29]
• World Economic Forum (WEF), member of the Global Future Council on the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems[30]
• Trilateral Commission, member of the European Group[31]
• Academy of European Law (ERA), member of the board of trustees[32]