Spat among Nordic EU states on farm subsidies

Sweden accused of "declaring war" on Finland

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Finland is waiting for an explanation for why its traditional partners, Sweden and Denmark, are trying to prevent Finland from granting national subsidies to farmers in the south of Finland.
      If no accommodation is found, Nordic cooperation could be in for a cooler period.
      The Nordic partners have done their best within the European Union to undermine Finland's efforts on behalf of its farmers. One of the reasons for this is the desire of Denmark and Sweden to gain a better foothold in Finland's food market.
      Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sirkka-Liisa Anttila (Centre) told Helsingin Sanomat on Thursday that she learned in the summer that Sweden is lobbying against Finland, and the domestic 141 subsidy it provides its farmers.
      Anttila says that Sweden's efforts came as a surprise. She took up the matter in a three-hour discussion with Sweden's Minister of Agriculture Eskil Erlandsson in late September.
      Nordic solidarity was not restored in the discussion.
      On Wednesday this week Erlandsson told the Finnish Broadcasting Company that the 141 support for Southern Finland is a transitional subsidy which needs to be stopped.
     
Finns see Sweden's behaviour as a "declaration of war".
      Denmark has also come out against Finland's 141 support, but Erlandsson's open attack is seen as especially harmful for the ongoing discussions.
      "It is something quite new that outside member states are interfering with negotiations between Finland and the Commission", says one expert who has followed the process.
      Speaking at Parliamentary question time, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said that it is a "sensitive spot" if Finland's neighbours claim that Finnish subsidies distort competition.
      The ministers are doing all they can to assure the Commission and member states that this will not happen, now that subsidies and production are being separated from each other.
      Vanhanen plans to take up the differences on Friday at a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Denmark.
     
Anttila also plans to have lunch with her Nordic colleagues to discuss the matter.
      She believes that Sweden's behaviour in the matter can be explained by the problems facing the country's agriculture.
      Sweden did not negotiate a package similar to Finland's 141 subsidies in the early 1990s when both countries were negotiating over EU membership.
      On the other hand, Sweden's climate, while much more congenial for agriculture than that of Finland, is not as mild as the conditions prevailing in Denmark.
      Anttila notes that imports of Finnish eggs are another annoying factor for Sweden.
      "There is room on the Swedish market, and eggs are imported from Finland, because Finland has eggs that are free of salmonella."
     
The Swedes have also lobbied against Norway at the World Trade Organisation negotiations, over the issue of salmon quotas.
      Sources at the European Commission said on Thursday that Finland still needs to submit more information before a decision can be made on the future of 141 subsidies.
      Finland reportedly has not given convincing reasons why it feels that the foundations for the continuity of 141 support have been met. The precondition for the continuation is that agriculture would still face serious difficulties stemming from joining the EU.
      The key notions are "serious" and "joining the EU". Proving the latter is very difficult now that Finland has been a member of the EU for 12 years.
     
Finland has other difficulties with the Commission.
      The Danish Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, is seen by some to have been angered that the Finnish ministers have focused lobbying efforts on Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
      Sirkka-Liisa Anttila says that from now on she will inform Fischer Boel of all Finnish contacts already in advance.
      Even if Finland were to reach some kind of agreement with the Agriculture Commissioner, the continuity of 141 support still needs to be approved in a session of the whole Commission. In such a case, support from Barroso would prove very valuable.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Pizzas, egg-butter and Article 141 support programmes (5.8.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat