The Green Party is the only party in Finland considering the possibility of taking on new EU joint debt, a new survey commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and carried out by research company Kantar Public reads.
However, the rest of the political parties and most Finns remain firm in opposing new EU joint debt ahead of the general election on 2 April.
“Finland sees no need for a new fund. We should use existing funds in a flexible way to support competitiveness and Green transition,” European Affairs and Ownership Steering Minister Tytti Tuppurainen (SDP) told EURACTIV.
In the same vein, the populist Finns Party stated that “countries should not be allowed to live at others’ expense,” while the Left Alliance said it would prefer other means than joint debt to finance investments but failed to elaborate further on the kinds of measures.
Parties have been shying away from discussing the EU’s future, particularly joint debts in pre-election debates, partly because these issues seem to divide the electorate.
Indeed, 52% of Finns said they would not grant the EU permission for a new joint debt, while 19% would allow it, and the rest had no opinion, a new poll shows.
(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
