Helsingin Sanomat - Finnish Parliament takes positive view of EU constitution treaty - Ratification to be considered in spring

Helsingin Sanomat

Finnish Parliament takes positive view of EU constitution treaty - Ratification to be considered in spring

The government’s report on the proposed European Union constitution got a fairly positive reception in Parliament on Tuesday. The only negative views were expressed by MP Timo Soini (True Finns) and the Christian Democrats, who questioned the wisdom of spending so much time discussing a treaty that is to be buried anyway. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) and his government drew up the report to send a political message to the EU that Finland supports the proposed constitution; actual ratification is to come later. So far the treaty has been ratified by 13 of the EU’s 25 member states, with France and Holland voting against.