Finns endorse closer European ties

Date: 11/04/1996

By Ole Ryborg

THE Finnish government is determined to place itself in the fast track during negotiations on the reform of the Maastricht Treaty over the coming year.

The pro-European Finns are making it clear they support moves towards closer integration and will back measures designed to achieve it.

At last month's informal summit in Turin, Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen told fellow EU leaders that his country was prepared to agree to proposals designed to increase the efficiency of the EU's institutions.

Unlike its Nordic neighbours, Helsinki has declared that it is ready to accept the introduction of qualified majority voting on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) issues and, despite the country's neutrality, is also prepared to agree to the EU being given control over the Western European Union (WEU).

“The WEU should be an instrument of the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy, an instrument with the aid of which decisions relating to military crisis management are implemented,” states the Finnish government's position paper on the Intergovernmental Conference.

Finland is also in the fast track over proposals to transfer competences from the 'third pillar' of justice and home affairs to the EU's first pillar of communitarised cooperation.

On issues such as police cooperation and asylum policy, it is in favour of giving the European Commission the right of initiative and letting the European Court of Justice interpret the rules.

But as one of the Union's smaller countries, Finland has rejected calls from the larger member states for changes in the share of votes in the Council of Ministers to take greater account of the size of the population in each EU country.

It also insists that every member state should continue to have the right to send at least one Commissioner to Brussels.

Helsinki is, however, ready to accept an extension of majority voting to ensure that the EU operates efficiently after enlargement.

It is also prepared to strengthen the role of the EU institutions, especially that of the European Parliament, although it opposes giving MEPs a greater say in budgetary matters, changes to the EU treaties or the appointment of the Commission.

In stark contrast to its Nordic neighbours, Finland does not regard the fight against unemployment as one of the most important subjects facing the IGC negotiators.

Helsinki has made it clear that it is prepared to agree to treaty changes designed to secure better coordination of employment policies across the EU, but acknowledges that jobs are not created by changing constitutions.

The Finnish government does, however, agree with its neighbours that the EU should put more emphasis on protecting the environment. It proposes this should be done by amending treaty articles on, for example, agriculture and transport, which would make it obligatory for Union institutions to take the environment into account when formulating new policies or considering proposals for legislation.

Finland's determination to be in the vanguard of closer European integration is also reflected in Helsinki's positive stand on the question of whether the next EU treaty should contain provisions to allow a group of countries to move ahead in certain areas without the rest.