Parliament may reconvene in August
The Finnish Parliament will possibly suspend its summer break and reconvene in August for an extraordinary session to debate the proposed bailout for the Spanish banking sector, as well as Finland's broader EU policy.
Speaker Eero Heinäluoma said on Monday that Parliament may be called back into session following a meeting of Parliament's Grand Committee with Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen.
The meeting debriefed Prime Minister Katainen on last week's European Council meetings.
The opposition has sharply criticised agreements reached at the summit to provide bailouts directly to Spanish banks. On Friday, opposition parties called for Parliament to convene in a special session to debate the Spanish banking rescue. This week, Finland will begin talks with Spain over collateral guarantees for the banking sector salvage plan.
The opposition Centre Party on Monday demanded a formal report by the government on the decisions made at last week's Brussels summit and how well attuned they are to decisions made by Parliament.
Prime Minister Katainen said that he did not exceed his mandate at the summit.
According to Social Democratic Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen, it is not necessary to convene Parliament to debate the decisions in Brussels. She argued that it should not be reconvened until it is time to review the Spanish bailout plan.
If Parliament is called to meet in August, it will be the first summer session of the national legislature in 50 years.
