Centre Party and Social Democrats oppose EU referendum

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The Parliamentary groups of the two main government parties, the Centre Party and the Social Democratic Party, have come out against holding an advisory referendum on the ratification of the constitutional treaty of the European Union.
      At the Centre Party meeting in Lahti, the Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen and MEP Kyösti Virrankoski, who had both come out in favour of a vote, did not press the issue at the meeting; the view of the party’s chairman, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, prevailed.
      At the SDP Parliamentarians’ meeting in Oulu, the party’s chairman, Speaker of Parliament Paavo Lipponen, noted that Finland agreed to surrendering part of its decision-making power when it joined the EU.
     
Although they submitted to the will of the party leader, Pekkarinen and Virrankoski said that they had not changed their minds on the issue. Pekkarinen reiterated his view that the treaty changes the character of the European Union, and that the people would therefore need to be consulted on the issue.
      The referendum issue will be discussed at a meeting of the Centre Party executive on Friday. Vanhanen said that he is confident that the party will endorse his view.
      At a meeting of the Centre Party’s executive committee on Thursday last week, MEP Paavo Väyrynen came out strongly in favour a referendum. Both Väyrynen and Virrankoski wanted to reject the EU constitution.
     
Disagreements on the EU referendum issue also
      surfaced in Oulu at the summer meeting of the Parliamentary group of the other main government party, the Social Democrats.
      Party leader Paavo Lipponen reiterated his opposition to a vote, saying that a referendum is a cumbersome system, which does not fit in with the Finnish political tradition as a normal means of making decisions. He also indicated that it is difficult to formulate the issue as a clear yes-or-no question.
      Lipponen pointed out that the 1994 referendum under which Finland joined the EU involved a transfer of some common decision-making power to the EU.
      "Then the EU was, in the final analysis, primarily a union of independent states. In this fundamental respect the new agreement does not change the character of the union", Lipponen said on Tuesday.
     
Disagreeing with Lipponen was the chairwoman of the Parliament’s Constitution Committee Arja Alho (SDP), who emphasised that the EU is more than just an international organisation. She said that it would be in the spirit of the Finnish constitution to amend it to state that part of Finland’s decision-making powers in internal and foreign affairs will be transferred to the EU level.
      "That means that even after an advisory referendum the constitutional agreement would need a two-thirds majority in Parliament", Alho said.
      The SDP party executive will decide on the referendum issue on August 26. The meeting will be presented with a report by a working group headed by MP Kimmo Kiljunen, assessing the arguments for and against a referendum.
      "It would be big news if the SDP were to decide next week that a referendum should be held", Kiljunen said. 


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Government is not calling referendum on new European Union constitution (16.8.2004)

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