Finland has come out and voiced its suggestions for EU member states in a recent Report on Finland’s EU Policy that was submitted by its government last week. At the top of the list was a call for a cap on the EU’s net membership fees, which would be applicable to all member states.
Finland also suggests that the EU’s 7-year budget should be shortened to match the 5-year terms on the European Commission and Parliament. The report goes on to discuss the impact of EU membership on Finland, key objectives for Finland’s EU policy, and analyses of the development of the EU, according to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
By proportion, the Netherlands is the largest net contributor, paying 0.5 percent of its GDP. Finland’s proposed ceiling on membership fees would be lower than that. The report does not get into specifics about the level of the cap, however. Finland’s Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said, “We have to allow for some negotiation.”
Finland currently contributes 0.1 percent of its GDP to the EU. This amounts to around EUR 33 per Finn. Other issues in the report include how much autonomy EU members should have in determining things such the power of each country to declare itself “a GMO-free region”. Finland is in favour of EU membership for Iceland, Norway, Turkey and the West Balkans.