Finland rejects British proposal for future European Union financing
Eero Heinäluoma
|
|
|
Finland opposes the European Union budget model put forward by the United Kingdom, the holder of the EU Presidency, for EU financing for 2007 - 2013. The proposal would sharply cut subsidies for rural areas.
"The proposal is not acceptable, as it has many parts that are bad for us, which are linked with the financing of rural areas and regional policy", said Finnish Minister of Finance Eero Heinäluoma (SDP) on Tuesday in Brussels.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. The two are to discuss the Finnish view of the matter.
The foreign ministers of the EU member states will take a stand on the British proposals on Wednesday. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP), who was on a visit to Ljublijana on Tuesday, rejected the British calculations. Tuomioja says that the proposal is not an improvement for Finland, and that it is insufficient with respect to the UK’s membership rebate.
The member states failed to reach agreement on EU financing in June, when Finland opposed the proposal of Luxembourg, which held the EU Presidency at the time. The latest British proposal is seen as worse from Finland’s point of view than that of Luxembourg. According to one assessment, the British proposal would mean that Finland would have to cut its rural development funding in half, to EUR 150 million.
Finland’s net contribution to the EU is set to grow in any case. Last year, Finland already paid about EUR 100 million more into the EU than it received in aid. In the coming years Finland’s share is set to triple.
"In all options it is clear that as a relatively prosperous country, Finland cannot assume that it would get every euro back that it sends to Brussels. We also must bear common responsibility for the development of the new member states, but in the present form, this proposal is not acceptable", Heinäluoma says.
In addition to Finland, the British proposal has been severely criticised by the European Commission, the conservative group in the European Parliament, as well as Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Germany, and Austria.
One of the criticisms of the British proposal is that it sharply cuts funding for new, less-developed member states. "From the point of view of the new member states, the proposal seems to be unreasonable. When we think about the development of the EU and solidarity, one must say that the proposal does not seem very balanced", Heinäluoma said.
The UK has defended its proposal, saying that the subsidies given to the new member states are still quite generous.
The prime ministers of the EU member states are to seek an agreement on the EU budget for the coming years at the EU summit in mid-December.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 7.12.2005 - TODAY |
 Finland rejects British proposal for future European Union financing
|
|
