Katainen also said that Finland would neither agree to a transfer of national budget sovereignty to the EU Commission, nor to eurobonds as proposed by the Commission.

However, Katainen emphasised that Finland’s place is at the heart of developments within the EU.

Constitutional clash

At an EU summit last Friday, an agreement was reached among 26 EU states that included an article that voting rules in the permanent bailout fund, or the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) would be altered to allow decision-making by a majority of 85 percent. However, the pact includes a stipulation that this article is subject to confirmation by the Finnish parliament.

Finland has maintained that it cannot agree to transitioning from decision making by unanimous consent to a system where voting rights are based on holdings in the European Central Bank. The Franco-German proposal would allow countries holding 85 percent of the European Central Bank’s capital to push through decisions on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

France and Germany have lobbied for qualified majority voting to avoid being taken hostage by small countries, such as Finland.

Soini critical

Finns Party chair Timo Soini said that the EU summit took a big leap towards eroding Finland’s budget sovereignty.

Soini said parliament could put a stop to this by keeping Finland out of the bailout mechanism.

The government will face a vote of confidence on Wednesday.