Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party) and President Tarja Halonen took turns participating in Monday’s extraordinary summit of the European Union on the situation in Georgia.
The practice implemented at the Brussels summit is a new one.
The meeting was convened by France, the current holder of the EU Presidency.
President Halonen’s decision to attend the summit alongside Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) sparked some controversy in Finland. Each member state has two seats at EU summits. In addition to the Prime Minister, the Finnish President is also entitled to attend. If the President is absent, the seat is taken by the Foreign Minister.
The situation was seen as awkward because of Stubb’s important role in negotiating a cease fire between Georgia and Russia in his capacity as Chairman of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Halonen’s presence at the meeting deprived Foreign Minister Stubb of a regular seat. Foreign Minister Stubb nevertheless was in Brussels; he and President Halonen took turns occupying the second allocated seat.
“This was certainly not the hottest topic in Europe”, commented President Halonen with a certain amount of irritation.
The issue of two chairs for three representatives did not seem to be a problem for the entire meeting. “In the final hurried moments, it seems that all three Finnish representatives were in the room at the same time”, Stubb said.
