Risto E.J. Penttilä, the President and CEO of Finland’s Central Chamber of Commerce, will not take up a seat in the European Parliament.
A seat in the body became vacant in December when MEP Ville Itälä (Nat. Coalition Party) was named to the European Court of Auditors.
Penttilä, got more than 50,000 votes in the European Parliament elections, making him the first runner-up on the list of the National Coalition Party. He would have been next in line to succeed Itälä, but the board of the Central Chamber of Commerce decided that it would not grant Penttilä a leave of absence for the purpose.
Instead of Penttilä, former television journalist Petri Sarvamaa will take up the post. Penttilä will nevertheless have to formally accept the post of MEP before submitting his resignation to the Parliament.
Both Penttilä and Sarvamaa were relieved at the turn of events. Sarvamaa said that he has been preparing for the task since September.
