Tricky EU questions could land in Finland's lap in 2006
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The trickiest EU disputes may end up having to be resolved during the summer and autumn of 2006, when Finland is to hold to the rotating EU Presidency for the second time, unless countries holding the presidency before Finland manage to the table.
"We have to be prepared to handle even crisis situations during our watch", said Antti Peltomäki, State Secretary for EU Affairs, at the EU seminar organised by the British Embassy on Wednesday.
Great Britain is the EU President in the autumn of 2005, before Austria and Finland.
While the consecutive presidency nations aim to improve their cooperation, at worst, all the rcsent years' biggest disputes might still land in Finland's lap: the improvement of EU competitiveness, the ordering of the funding for the common EU budget, the progress in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations, the effective operation of the expanded union, and the endorsement of the EU Constitution by autumn 2006.
According to Kim Darroch, Director General for European Union affairs at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the EU Presidency can be particularly thorny for Britain. The Government will face the task of forwarding the EU's common goals, while the British media and the public expect the Presidency to benefit the Brits.
A referendum may be organised in the United Kingdom in the early 2006. One of the key questions will be the EU membership fee. Great Britain along with five other nations calls for freezing of the fees at their present level.
Darroch states the real challenge is to convince the Brits that the EU goals are in accordance with Britain's interests as well.
"It is always easier for a small nation to do well at the EU helm. You Finns are doomed to succeed",. Darroch says.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.9.2004 - TODAY |
 Tricky EU questions could land in Finland's lap in 2006 |
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