Finland has called for the EU to strengthen its resilience to crises in all sectors, including the union playing a stronger future role in the organisation and supply of medicines.
The Finnish government has outlined its policy on the EU for the coming years in a report published on Thursday.
"Resilience to crisis is a cross-cutting theme in the report. The Government wants to strengthen the EU as a security community," Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen (SDP) said.
The document, entitled 'Report on EU Policy', is the first comprehensive report on Finland’s EU policy to be published by a Finnish government for nearly eight years.
Also on Thursday, the government submitted a proposal (in Finnish) to Parliament on the EU council’s decision on the system of so-called ‘own resources’, meaning how the EU is funded over the next seven years.
Own resources refer to contributions from member states as well as other sources of income, such as duties and levies.
The proposal also includes a decision on the EU’s coronavirus stimulus package, which has been the subject of much political debate in Finland.
Due to Brexit and the departure of the UK from the EU, each member state’s contributions will increase over the coming seven-year period. Finland’s payments will rise by about four percent, or 210 million euros per year, which is less than the average 10 percent contribution hike that other member countries face.
Parliament will discuss EU funding as well as the policy report in the coming weeks. The Constitutional Law Committee must also decide if a simple majority is enough to carry the proposal, or if a two-thirds majority is required.
