PM Vanhanen in talks with Blair over EU energy policy

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Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party) met with his British colleague Tony Blair on Thursday in London, where the two discussed how a common energy policy could be created for the European Union. Vanhanen also sought consensus in the question of the Union's working hours directive.
      The aim of Vanhanen's visit was to prepare for the unofficial EU summit to be held in Lahti, Finland, later this month. The official topic of the summit is the development of an innovation policy, but especially energy and immigration policy issues are also expected to surface during the talks.
     
The energy policy question centres on Russia. "We [the EU] should learn to speak in unison when negotiating with Russia", Vanhanen emphasised.
      The aim is to avoid situations like the one at the turn of the year, when Russia threatened to stop its gas deliveries to Ukraine, causing palpitations in the Western European countries that depend on Russian gas.
      Britain also has its Russia-related energy worries. The Russian environmental authorities have threatened to put a stop to the gigantic oil and gas project on the island of Sakhalin, where the British-Dutch concern Shell is also involved.
     
Vanhanen also sought consensus in the question of the European Union's working hours directive, which is currently in the making.
      "We had our most in-depth talks on that subject. It is one of the most critical legislative issues to be determined during Finland's EU Presidency, and we still have a lot of work to do", Vanhanen said.
      "The British have their own needs. In fact every EU member-state seems to have their own agenda, and these national agendas can deviate from one another a great deal."
      Vanhanen did not elaborate on which particular needs Blair had put forward. Until now, Britain has been opposed to the idea of a uniform 48-hour limit on the working week.
      The British government has favoured a more flexible model, where the employers and employees could more freely agree on working hour terms.
     
In the press conference at No.10 Downing Street , Blair appeared characteristically determined. He spoke eloquently and decisively without saying anything that could be interpreted as news.
      When asked about the British troops' part in the recent fighting in Afghanistan, Blair repeated how important the war against terrorism was. He also thanked the Finns for their attempts to bring peace to Afghanistan.
      Some reporters were amused by a remark from Blair that seemed to suggest he mistakenly thought Finland - which has sent troops to the NATO-led ISAF force - was in fact a member of the alliance. Whether Vanhanen politely amended this misconception off-camera is not known.


Links:
  EU Presidency Site
  UK Prime Minister´s Office (contains transcript of press briefing)

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