Finnish EU payments to European Union to grow in coming years
Finnish payments to the European Union are set to grow in the coming years, with the net contribution to EU coffers rising to about EUR 400 a year, up from the present EUR 140 million. EU rural development subsidies received by Finland are going down considerably. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said after EU leaders ironed out the details of the reached agreement on the budget early Saturday, that the British proposal for a seven-year budget was reasonable. In his view, Finland has an obligation to contribute to the costs of EU enlargement. Vanhanen also sees the agreement as necessary for the preservation of the ability of the EU to function. The budget reduces the amount of rural development funds going to Finland by one third. Next year Finland is still getting EUR 350 million. In spite of the cuts, Finland approved the agreement, even though it means that Finland’s net contribution will be greater than it would have been under the model put forward by Luxembourg in the summer, which Finland voted against. "The agreement should be seen as an investment into the future of the EU, which will undoubtedly pay itself back", Vanhanen said on Saturday in Lahti.
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