Government postpones crisis management authority dispute until next week
Finance Minister not yet ready to approve special legislation
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The Finnish government decided late on Thursday to postpone until Tuesday next week a decision on the process of authorising Finnish participation in European Union crisis management operations.
Before moving forward with the measure, the government wants to make sure that it has the necessary five sixths majority in Parliament to push through expedited "special legislation", under which the President’s authority to decide on participation in crisis management missions would remain unchanged.
The alternative to special legislation would be to amend the constitution, but the process is slower.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said late Thursday evening after the meeting with key ministers at his official residence, that all parliamentary groups would be asked to decide by Tuesday if they are ready to pass the special legislation.
Two government parties, the Centre Party and the Swedish People’s Party, and two opposition parties, the National Coalition Party and the Green League, indicated already on Thursday that they would back the move.
The Social Democratic Party and its chairman, Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma, have been most resistant to going the route of special legislation. The SDP’s parliamentary group has not taken an official stand, and Heinäluoma did not want to speak on behalf of his party’s MPs at Thursday’s meeting.
The Social Democratic parliamentary group will take a stand on the matter on Tuesday. The government’s official decision is expected the same evening at a meeting to be presided over by Heinäluoma. At that time, Vanhanen will be attending the Torino Olympics.
Parliamentary groups of the various political parties held meetings on Thursday to discuss how they felt that decisions on crisis management operations should be made. The views of the groups were submitted to Vanhanen.
The Centre Party saw amending the constitution as the best option, but was willing to accept special legislation as an option.
The Social Democrats were clearly in favour of a constitutional amendment, and mentioned nothing of the special law option. The SDP group’s vice chairwoman, Maija Rask, who presided over the meeting of the SDP MPs, said that the group did not rule out any alternatives.
The parliamentary group of the third government party, the Swedish People’s Party, came out in favour of a special law.
The opposition National Coalition Party and the Greens categorically rejected meddling with the constitution. They felt that the best option would be for the government to decide on participation in EU-mandated crisis management operations, and for the President to decide on all others. However, both parties said that they would accept an expedited special law.
The Christian Democrats rejected amending the constitution. The three parliamentarians of the True Finns were in favour of a constitutional amendment.
Opinions were split in the Left Alliance, whose parliamentary group announced that it wanted to keep decision-making power with the President by changing the constitution on a normal timetable, which means that the measure would have to be approved twice - once by this Parliament, and a second time by the one that takes office after next year’s elections.
The party’s chairwoman, Suvi-Anne Siimes, had said a few days ago that such an arrangement would make no sense.
Before moving forward with the measure, the government wants to make sure that it has the necessary five sixths majority in Parliament to push through expedited "special legislation", under which the President’s authority to decide on participation in crisis management missions would remain unchanged.
The alternative to special legislation would be to amend the constitution, but the process is slower.
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said late Thursday evening after the meeting with key ministers at his official residence, that all parliamentary groups would be asked to decide by Tuesday if they are ready to pass the special legislation.
Two government parties, the Centre Party and the Swedish People’s Party, and two opposition parties, the National Coalition Party and the Green League, indicated already on Thursday that they would back the move.
The Social Democratic Party and its chairman, Finance Minister Eero Heinäluoma, have been most resistant to going the route of special legislation. The SDP’s parliamentary group has not taken an official stand, and Heinäluoma did not want to speak on behalf of his party’s MPs at Thursday’s meeting.
The Social Democratic parliamentary group will take a stand on the matter on Tuesday. The government’s official decision is expected the same evening at a meeting to be presided over by Heinäluoma. At that time, Vanhanen will be attending the Torino Olympics.
Parliamentary groups of the various political parties held meetings on Thursday to discuss how they felt that decisions on crisis management operations should be made. The views of the groups were submitted to Vanhanen.
The Centre Party saw amending the constitution as the best option, but was willing to accept special legislation as an option.
The Social Democrats were clearly in favour of a constitutional amendment, and mentioned nothing of the special law option. The SDP group’s vice chairwoman, Maija Rask, who presided over the meeting of the SDP MPs, said that the group did not rule out any alternatives.
The parliamentary group of the third government party, the Swedish People’s Party, came out in favour of a special law.
The opposition National Coalition Party and the Greens categorically rejected meddling with the constitution. They felt that the best option would be for the government to decide on participation in EU-mandated crisis management operations, and for the President to decide on all others. However, both parties said that they would accept an expedited special law.
The Christian Democrats rejected amending the constitution. The three parliamentarians of the True Finns were in favour of a constitutional amendment.
Opinions were split in the Left Alliance, whose parliamentary group announced that it wanted to keep decision-making power with the President by changing the constitution on a normal timetable, which means that the measure would have to be approved twice - once by this Parliament, and a second time by the one that takes office after next year’s elections.
The party’s chairwoman, Suvi-Anne Siimes, had said a few days ago that such an arrangement would make no sense.
Helsingin Sanomat