Finland to work for more transparent EU

As from today, the baton of the EU presidency passes north from the hands of Austria's Chancellor Wolfgang Schussel to Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

Launching the programme of the six-month Finnish-EU Presidency during a press conference yesterday in Helsinki, Mr Vanhanen said Finland wants to address what currently seems to be the EU's biggest problem - its diminished legitimacy in its citizens' eyes.

"In Finland's view, the best way of demonstrating the need for the EU is through effective legislative work and efficient management of the Union's other business," he said. He said that this was why Finland chose to focus on transparency and effectiveness in the way the Union functions. Greater transparency would be achieved above all through open sessions of the EU Council and for the first time citizens would be able to follow via the internet what the EU ministers were deciding.

Another of Finland's objectives is to improve the quality of the Union's legislative work. He said that this meant paying attention to the effects of legislation and improving its clarity.

During the press conference held at Helsinki's main seat of power, the House of the Estates, the Prime Minister gave details on the main four areas his presidency will be focusing on.

These are the future of the EU, competitiveness, external relations and justice and home affairs.

Mr Vanhanen said there is no doubt that the debate over the future of the EU will continue to be a major issue.

"Finland will bring the passive period of reflection on the Constitutional Treaty to a close and start active discussions on the future of the Treaty with the member states and EU institutions. At the same time, improvements will be made to the way the Union functions, where the existing Treaties allow for this," he said.

On enlargement, which will be discussed in December, the Finnish Prime Minister said his aim is to reach a new consensus between all 25 member states.

He plans a thorough analysis of the major issues in this debate including the accession timetable for Bulgaria and Romania, membership negotiations with Turkey and Croatia, and the overall situation in the Western Balkans.

Other priorities are improving the EU's competitiveness and reinforcing decision-making on criminal law and police cooperation. The Prime Minister said that the primary objective here is a European Union that lives up to its citizens' expectations in combating international crime, human trafficking and terrorism.

During its six-month presidency, Finland, considered to be one of the smallest EU members with a population of only five million, will chair over 3,000 Council meetings in Brussels and around 130 in Finland. The most important meetings are the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Lahti in October, the December European Council in Brussels, and the EU-Asian ASEM summit in Helsinki in September.