President Halonen to replace Foreign Minister Stubb at EU summit

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The long-standing controversy over the number of Finnish representatives at summit meetings of the European Union gets a new dimension next week when the EU convenes to discuss the crisis in Georgia at an extraordinary summit meeting on Monday.
      The decision by President Tarja Halonen to take part in the summit means that there will be no place at the meeting for Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party), who helped negotiate the Georgian peace plan in his capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
      The situation at the extraordinary summit is extraordinary indeed, as the only theme of the summit is the crisis in Georgia, in which the EU has been working closely with the OSCE. Halonen and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) cannot speak on behalf of the OSCE, as dealing with issues relating to the chairmanship is the personal duty of the foreign minister of the holder.
     
There was confusion in Helsinki on Wednesday over how many seats there would be at the meeting for Finland, and how Stubb might get an invitation to sit somewhere other than with the Finnish delegation.
      “The starting point is that the OSCE Chairman-in-Office will sit in the room”, said the President’s Chief of Staff Jarmo Viinanen on Wednesday morning. According to Viinanen, Finland will be getting a third seat in the room instead of the regular two.
      During the day, all other sources in Helsinki and Brussels reported that a third seat is impossible.
     
Each EU member state has the right to two participants in summits, also known as meetings of the European Council. Most countries have a prime minister or president attending, in addition to the Foreign Minister.
      When the President of Finland takes part in a meeting, the other Finnish participant is the Prime Minister, who has the status of chair of the Finnish delegation at EU summits.
      In such cases the Foreign Minister waits outside - sometimes with journalists in the café, unless a separate foreign ministers’ meeting is taking place at the same time.
     
Decisions by the President to participate in the meetings are based on the constitution, which dictates that the President leads Finnish foreign policy in cooperation with the government, even though the Prime Minister is responsible for EU policy.
      This has meant that two places have been set at EU summits for Finland, while most other countries make do with just one. Monday’s meeting does not involve a dinner, so the number of plates is not an issue.
     
The formal decision on Halonen’s participation in the summit is to be made on Thursday at a session of the government.
      In practice it was clear that the President would attend the summit when she announced herself that she wanted to.
      It was made clear from the President’s office that her participation would not depend on the number of seats available.
      On the other hand, it was suggested in government circles that Stubb would be invited separately into the meeting room in his capacity as OSCE Chairman. This would probably mean that he would be allowed to go into the meeting for the duration of his speech.
     
An invitation should come from the EU Presidency-holder France, but on Thursday evening the secretariat of the French EU Presidency had no knowledge of plans to invite the Finnish Foreign Minister.
      There was also no information at the secretariat of the European Council, which is responsible for summit arrangements, or at the Finnish Foreign Ministry.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish and French foreign ministers hold talks with Georgian President (11.8.2008)
  President Halonen told in advance of Russian decision to recognise breakaway areas (27.8.2008)
  Stubb voices optimism over Georgia deal (12.8.20008)

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