Finns push to trim back vetoes

Date: 03/06/1999

By Tim Jones

EU governments would no longer have the right to veto global trade deals covering banking, telecommunications and shipping under proposals drawn up by the incoming Finnish presidency.

Helsinki's move heralds the start of a round of national bidding to widen the scope of the Union's qualified majority voting (QMV) system to decisions ranging from tax harmonisation to regional funding reform.

The Finns will press their case for an end to national vetoes over services trade agreements when they prepare the ground for the forthcoming talks on EU treaty reform during their six months in charge of Union business.

" We are well aware of what most people want and, more importantly, what they say they want but will be prepared to negotiate away," said a senior Finnish official.

EU government leaders are due to set the parameters for next year's Intergovernmental Conference at their summit in Cologne today (3 June), but it is certain to discuss whether QMV should be extended to new policy areas.

Helsinki has already decided to re-table the controversial proposal it championed during the IGC in 1996-97 to smooth the ratification of services trade agreements.

The initiative, which is vehemently opposed by the French, Belgian and Spanish governments, is aimed at strengthening the hand of the Union's 'liberal' camp as the 134-nation Millennium Round of global trade talks approaches.

Trade in services, patents and trade marks is growing in importance, with the EU annual turnover in the business topping €800 billion. The Union accounts for one quarter of all the world's services exports, compared with 22% for the US and a mere 7% for Japan.

At the moment, Article 113 of the Treaty of Rome specifies that international agreements regarding trade in goods should be negotiated by the European Commission in consultation with national governments, and decisions taken by QMV.

In the Amsterdam Treaty negotiations, Finland and its allies failed to persuade other member states to agree to extend QMV to services negotiations. Instead, a new Article 113 states that the Council of Ministers "may extend" the article to "internal negotiations and agreements on services and intellectual property" by a unanimous decision.

Equally controversial is an attempt by Nordic governments and Germany to amend the rules governing what action in the environmental policy field should be agreed by QMV under Article 130s.

" This would make it easier to define something as an environmental issue when it was not before and would be sure to lead to legal challenge," said a national official.

Diplomats expect the French and Belgians to propose the use of QMV on taxation policy; an area where the national veto is jealously guarded by the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg.

Feature looks at the debate which is beginning on which policy areas should become subject to qualified majority voting (QMV) at the forthcoming IGC.