Finnish Parliament approves Treaty of Lisbon

Three Centre Party MPs defy government

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The Finnish Parliament gave its approval on Wednesday to the new basic agreement of the European Union, the Treaty of Lisbon. The vote was 151 to 27, well over the two thirds majority required for passage.
     To take effffect, the measure must still be signed by President Tarja Halonen.
      A proposal to reject the treaty was put forward by Left Alliance MP Esko-Juhani Tennilä. Voting against ratification were most MPs of the Left Alliance and the Christian Democrats, as well as all five True Finns MPs.
     All except three opposition Social Democrats taking part in the vote were in favour of ratification. Three Centre Party Parliamentarians, Marjaana Koskinen, Esa Lahtela, and Tero Rönni broke ranks to vote against the treaty.
     All members of the National Coalition Party, the Swedish People’s Party, and the Greens, who were present at Wednesday’s session voted yes, including Erkki Pulliainen (Green), who had previously voiced critical views.
     
When the Finnish Parliament voted on the nearly identical EU constitutional treaty in December 2006, 125 voted yes, and 39 voted no, including Pulliainen.
     At that time as well, the motion to reject the proposal came from the Left Alliance. The decision by Left MPs Suvi-Anne Siimes and Anne Huotari to vote in favour of ratification caused anger within the party. This time, five members of the Left Alliance Parliamentary group, including party chairman Martti Korhonen, voted yes.
     Christian Democratic Party Chairwoman Päivi Räsänen and Parliamentary Group leader Bjarne Kallis were in favour of the approval of the treaty, even though a majority of the group voted against it.
     The Lisbon treaty has been ratified by 13 of the 27 EU member states.


Links:
  Treaty of Lisbon

Helsingin Sanomat