HELSINKI, June 27: Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen sounded almost apologetic a year ago when he demanded collateral in exchange for bailout funds for Greece.
It was the first time the Finns, who have prospered as EU members since 1995, shedding the shadow of historically dominant neighbours Russia and Sweden, had joined Europe’s awkward squad.
Attaching strings to aid was a condition set by the Social Democrats, his conservative party’s coalition partners, and Katainen’s aides privately worried about being troublemakers in Europe’s moment of need.
It took weeks of tortuous negotiations to satisfy Helsinki’s demands, compounding financial market jitters.
Twelve months on, with the euro zone still in turmoil and Greece nearer to the brink, Katainen no longer sounds sorry for demanding austerity from other member states or for opposing major steps towards closer integration that Finland considers too risky or irresponsible, such as common euro bonds.
“Too many countries have gotten too many loans too cheaply for too long,” Katainen told Reuters this month. “We don’t want to institutionalise this unless we know everybody will follow the rules, which hasn’t been the case before.”
The Finns were also quick to oppose giving the newly-elected Greek government more time to meet fiscal targets.
Katainen’s National Coalition party is the polar opposite of the anti-euro Finns Party which rose from obscurity in the 2011 election to finish a close third, yet he too is now calling for more fairness and fiscal responsibility in the euro zone.
Finland has dutifully obeyed the EU’s fiscal criteria and is one of the few remaining countries in the euro zone with a triple-A credit rating from all major rating agencies.
Asked whether he would have supported Finland’s entry into the euro if he had known how the crisis would unfold, Katainen responded with a qualified “yes”.
“We would also have been stricter on how the member countries fulfill the criteria and follow the rules,” he said.
Government officials have mixed views on the latest push for a tighter fiscal and banking union. They say a stronger central authority could speed up decision-making and help the EU gain credibility in financial markets, but they are reluctant to give up more sovereignty to Brussels.
The Finns Party’s charismatic leader, Timo Soini, says Katainen would be wrong to give away more parliamentary power.
“The bailouts were philosophically wrong, deeply morally wrong. Now they want to make those rules prevail in a banking union, with eurobonds and more power to Brussels,” he told Reuters in an interview. “No way.” (AGENCIES)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel