“Opening windows towards Europe” was the slogan of the literary group “Torch-Bearers” (Tulenkantajat) in 1930s and 1940s. This is also, mutatis mutandis, one of the principal ideas in the three-volume Suomen kirjallisuushistoria (History of Finnish literature) published in 1999 with Yrjö Varpio as editor-in-chief. In 1995, Finland had become a member of the European Union. In several of the member states, the expansion of the European Union, with the consequent upsurge in active cooperation, brought forth an avalanche of writings concerning the European cultural and political identity and heritage (see, e.g., Lützeler (1992), Wilson and van der Dussen (1995), Neumann et al. (2004–2009), Gasché (2009), François and Serrier (2017)). A new, politically strengthened European identity challenged, at least to some extent and in some of the member states, the habit of thinking in terms of national identity—while the reaction in others, such as Poland and Hungary, was a new, powerful wave of nationalism. Finland is counted among the former group. While political developments over the last two decades have given rise, as in several other West-European countries, to a relatively strong rightwing party, with a populist, Euro-skeptic, immigration-critical and neo-nationalist agenda, the great majority of Finns are firm supporters of the European Union. The project of redefining a European identity, however, has not been a prominent topic in Finnish public life. On the Finnish side, membership in the European Union has been seen from a specific perspective. Having always felt themselves to exist at the margins of Europe, this new recognition as a member of the European family, on an equal footing with other member nations, appeared to Finns as an elevation in national status. The matter was not discussed in precisely those terms, but even today we read repeatedly in the media about Finland once again acting in a particular matter as a “model pupil” of the European Union—as if always feeling inferior to other, “more European” member states and craving their recognition. Another specific aspect in the issue of membership was its geopolitical dimension. In the referendum of 1995, many Finns voted for Union membership because it would improve the security of the country—even today not a member of NATO (when the preparation of this book for print was going on in May 2022, both Finland and Sweden submitted their application for a NATO membership)—with respect to its powerful neighbor, Russia. With these two aspects dominating, there was (and still is) relatively scanty discussion of the cultural repercussions of membership.