Finnish Parliament takes positive view of EU constitution treaty

Ratification to be considered in spring

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The government’s report on the proposed European Union constitution got a fairly positive reception in Parliament on Tuesday.
      The only negative views were expressed by MP Timo Soini (True Finns) and the Christian Democrats, who questioned the wisdom of spending so much time discussing a treaty that is to be buried anyway.
      Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) and his government drew up the report to send a political message to the EU that Finland supports the proposed constitution; actual ratification is to come later.
      The treaty has been ratified by 13 of the EU’s 25 member states.
      Progress of the treaty came to a screeching halt in the summer after it was rejected by voters in referendums in France and The Netherlands. The final fate of the treaty will not be known until the spring of 2007, after the two countries have held Parliamentary elections.
     
Speaking on behalf of the Social Democratic Parliamentary group, MP Kimmo Kiljunen proposed that Parliament seriously assess whether or not the constitutional treaty can be ratified already in the coming spring. Kiljunen said that by doing so, Finland could strengthen its influence as the holder of the EU Presidency in the second half of next year.
      Also calling for the immediate launch of the ratification process was Eva Biaudet (Swed. People’s Party).
      Mikko Elo (SDP) said that he would bet the equivalent of Prime Minister Vanhanen’s Presidential election campaign budget that the draft constitution will never take effect in its current form.
     
Jan Vapaavuori of the opposition National Coalition Party said that his group would seriously consider a ratification proposal if the SDP puts it forward in the spring. He also emphasised that his party had always been in favour of the draft constitution.
      Vapaavuori then took the opportunity to lash out at what he sees as the government’s ineffective EU policy.
      "The present government is applying neither the breaks, nor the gas pedal. The foot is resting lazily on the clutch. Finland has ‘readiness’, but lacks a determined will of its own."
      The Centre Party’s Aulis Ranta-Muotio saw things differently: he says that Vanhanen’s government has taken a deliberate move in the direction of globalisation, and has been praised for this at the EU level.
     
Ranta-Muotio echoed many others by calling for bringing the EU closer to its citizens. He said that merely using more easily undertandable language is not enough: the EU must concentrate only on matters in which taking action through the EU brings clear added value.
      Or as Toimi Kankaanniemi (Christ. Dem.) put it, issues such as the number of wolves, the use of tar, and the thickness of condoms "can be decided on the national level".
     
Vanhanen emphasised that the constitution should primarily be implemented as a whole, and that breaking it up into parts should come into play only as a last resort.
      Heidi Hautala (Green) said that it would show contempt toward democracy to reintroduce the proposed constitution unchanged once it has been rejected. In her view, Finland should be ready for the dissection of the draft treaty during the Finnish EU Presidency.
      "It would be realistic to learn from previous mistakes, and to prepare to hold a referendum at the same time in all member states in connection with the elections for the European Parliament in 2009", Hautala said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Parliament to get report on EU constitution (23.6.2005)

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