Finland prepares to deal with financing dispute during EU Presidency next year
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When Finland takes over the Presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2006, it will probably have to deal with a dispute concerning the future EU financing. Finnish officials are already laying the groundwork for dealing with the issue.
The ministers of finance of the EU countries met on Tuesday to discuss EU financing for the 2007 - 2013 period. The aim is to reach agreement during the Luxembourg EU Presidency, before the end of June.
Sharp differences were still evident at Tuesday’s meeting, with ministers from the various countries repeating their old points of view.
"We would need a miracle of some kind if agreement on the issue could be reached during the current Luxembourg Presidency. It is already something that the officials in Luxembourg are taking this very seriously, and are trying to bring the countries closer together as much as possible", said Finnish Finance Minister Antti Kalliomäki after the meeting.
Time is running short for Luxembourg, because it is unlikely for anything to happen on the matter before France holds its referendum on the EU constitution on May 29th. Luxembourg will also have to wait to hear the views of the European Parliament on EU financing.
This means that there will only be about two weeks left to seek an agreement. Because of the tight schedule, the member states have already agreed on an extraordinary crisis meeting during which time they can seek to promote the project.
The European Commission has repeatedly warned member states that the activities of the EU could be paralysed unless an agreement is reached during the Luxembourg EU Presidency.
If this does not materialise, the Finnish EU Presidency is widely considered to be the next opportunity. Before Finland, the presidency will be held by the UK and Austria, which are generally not considered to be capable of resolving the issue.
The UK, which takes over from Luxembourg in the second half of this year, is seen as unlikely to want to agree to controversial financial arrangements which might affect the outcome of its referendum on the EU constitution next year.
Austria, which takes over in the first half of next year, has been calling for less EU spending than the Commission has proposed.
Antti Kalliomäki said at the finance ministers' meeting that Finland would be willing to deal with the matter. However, he noted that if it is delayed until the Finnish EU Presidency, the financing package will not be implemented from the beginning of 2007.
Finland could also end up dealing with crisis management stemming from the EU constitution issue. According to the present schedule, all EU member states should ratify the constitution before the autumn of 2006, if it is to take effect during the Finnish Presidency.
However, if the draft constitution fails to win approval in a national referendum, it would be up to Finland to try to unravel the knot.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 13.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Finland prepares to deal with financing dispute during EU Presidency next year
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