Sampo Terho, chair of Sininen tulevaisuus (Blue Reform), accuses Prime Minister Juha Sipälä of capitulating under pressure from EU countries over the allocation of European Parliament seats. According to JEF Finland, these claims have no basis.
“Sampo Terho’s talk of capitulation is complete nonsense. Under the original proposal, all of the seats vacated by the United Kingdom (73) could have ended up being distributed to other member states. In the end, only a portion (27) were distributed. Spain and France each receive 5 seats, and the other 13 countries receive 1-3 additional seats,” summarises JEF Finland’s President Tuomas Tikkanen.
The purpose of the proposal is to even out unfair disparities in the representation of member states’ citizens in the European Parliament. The principle of evening out these disparities is also enshrined in the EU treaties. The proposal is, in part, a compromise that seeks to correct the distribution of power within the EU.
“Not all of the seats freed up by the United Kingdom are being distributed, and they aren’t being distributed to all member states — only to fourteen of them. Germany, for example, receives none.”
The allocation of parliamentary seats requires unanimity among member states, so a negative stance from Finland would have blocked the solution from being reached.
“It would be foolish for Finland to oppose this alone, since this isn’t an issue of major significance. No member state opposes the proposal, not even those that won’t receive additional seats. Stubborn obstruction wins nothing”, Tikkanen concludes.
Further information,
Tuomas Tikkanen
President
[email protected]
+358 40 523 5768
Mikko Kymäläinen
Secretary General
[email protected]
+358 40 911 2049