Nordic countries want to take lead in climate policy
Prime ministers of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark anticipate difficult EU summit
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The prime ministers of Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, Matti Vanhanen, Fredrik Reinfeldt, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen predict that the European Union summit meeting, which begins on Thursday, will be a difficult one.
The heads of government of the Nordic Countries met in Punkaharju, in the southeast of Finland.
"There will be difficulties. Currently there are no proposals on the table on which we would know that a solution is available", Vanhanen noted.
On the agenda of the summit will be reform of the EU's basic treaties. Poland has been the major headache in the process, calling for more voting power for itself.
"We are ready to be flexible, and to take the demands of the member states into consideration. But I oppose attempts to re-open negotiations on the voting rights of small and large countries", Fogh Rasmussen said.
Reinfeldt pointed out that the three Nordic EU member states have no problem in approving the proposal by Germany, the holder of the EU Presidency, aimed at modifying the present basic treaties.
Also taking part in the Nordic prime ministers' summer gathering were the prime ministers of the two non-EU members of the Nordic Countries Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, and Geir H. Haarde of Iceland.
After the meeting, the five leaders emphasised the importance of Nordic cooperation in climate policy. The prime ministers said that the countries must be pioneers in reducing greenhouse gases.
Reinfeldt said that the rest of the world could follow the example of the Nordic region in combining economic growth and reduced emissions.
Sweden is taking climate policy as its top priority the next time it holds the EU Presidency in 2009. An international climate conference is to be held in the Danish capital Copenhagen in the same year.
The leaders also called for closer cooperation in the energy sector, with more integration of the Nordic electricity market.
However, this might not be so easy to implement in practice.
Several studies have noted that the electricity market operates on conditions set by Sweden and Norway, both of which have extensive hydroelectric power resources at their disposal. All that Reinfeldt said was that he would be willing to discuss the matter.
In an interview in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet on Tuesday Reinfeldt said that Sweden does not need to build any more nuclear power plants, adding that the output of the existing ten reactors can be increased.
"I have nothing against Finland building a fifth reactor", Reinfeldt said, when asked. He emphasised that the EU must respect the energy choices of its member states.
The prime Ministers also want to cooperate more closely in improving the international competitiveness of the region.
There are plans for an annual Nordic globalisation forum, which would bring together politicians, researchers, NGOs, and corporations.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 20.6.2007 - TODAY |
 Nordic countries want to take lead in climate policy |
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