Budget debate: Väyrynen wants development cooperation money detached from state spending framework

Paavo Väyrynen

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Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paavo Väyrynen (Centre) says that development cooperation funding should be detached from the state spending framework, which limits annual spending. Speaking during the Parliament's budget debate on Tuesday, Väyrynen said that the administration of development cooperation should be disengaged from the state productivity programme.
      Next year an additional EUR 85 million in spending will be added, and plans are for an increase of EUR 370 million during the whole Parliamentary term. However, the Finnish economy is growing so fast that these increases will fall short of Finland's target levels for development spending of 0.51 per cent of GDP by 2010 or 0.7 per cent by 2015, as Finland has promised to do.
     
Väyrynen said that the government plans to increase development funding in the spending framework when it re-examines the matter in the early spring.
      Johanna Sumuvuori (Green) called for detaching development funding from the spending framework.Pertti Salolainen (Nat. Coalition Party), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the "system error" that prevents the targets from being reached should be fixed.
      Väyrynen latched onto the proposal, saying that development aid funding was "a different kind of funding" that should be examined outside both the framework process and the productivity programme.
      Parliament is to vote on next year's development aid funding on Wednesday next week.
     
During the debate, Defence Minister Jyri Häkämies (Nat. Coalition Party) was severely criticised by MP Kari Rajamäki (SDP) and a number of other members of the leftist opposition concerning plans to implement a productivity programme in the defence administration. The opposition says that the work of 220 people working for the Construction Establishment of the Defence Forces are to be outsourced, and dismissals are considered likely.
      In response, Häkämies said that the moves are in accordance with the Construction Establishment's own strategy, although they have been "undeniably speeded up".
      "We follow good personnel policy. Nobody has been terminated, and the work is not going anywhere", Häkämies said.
     
In debate on matters related to the Ministry of Finance, the Greens asked Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen (Nat. Coalition Party) about possible further changes to environmental taxation.
      Kirsi Ojansuu (Green) asked if Katainen would be ready to increase car taxation if it comes out that the car tax reform that takes effect from the beginning of next year.
      Oras Tynkkynen (Green) noted that Katainen himself had admitted that the increases in energy taxation were mainly following the rate of inflation, and asked if further taxation were to be expected to support the country's climate policy.
      Katainen would not promise any new tax hikes.
     
In debate on issues linked with the Ministry of the Interior, sevearl Parliamentarians were concerned about police funding.
      Raimo Vistbacka (True Finns) pointed out that many police were unemployed.
      Interior Minister Anne Holmlund (Nat. Coalition Party) noted that she had decided that the number of openings in police training would be reduced next year from 360 to 312.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Budget talks: VAT on food to be cut in 2009 (31.8.2007)
  Budget proposal: alcohol tax to go up, taxation of pensioners and inheritance to ease (2.8.2007)

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