Finnish Parliament Wants Monetary Union Goals Subjected to Vote

Finland’s parliament called on the government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen to bring proposals for the future of the monetary union to a lawmaker vote.

The government should present a report on the European Monetary Union’s long-term development targets to the parliament, allowing lawmakers to pass or reject the proposals, the parliament’s Grand Committee said today in an e-mailed statement. Katainen’s six-party coalition has the backing of 124 lawmakers of the assembly’s 200.

“Developing the EMU isn’t just a question of economic policy,” Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, who chairs the committee, said in the statement. “Economic policy must have a democratic mandate.”

Finland, one of the four AAA rated euro nations, opposes joint borrowing by the 17 member states and has called for fiscal discipline as the euro area endures a fourth year of crisis. The deal by European Union finance ministers on banking supervision is a “decisive step” toward breaking the link between banks and governments, Katainen said.

“I will push for all reforms that build a strong EMU based on the original no-bail out idea,” Katainen said in a separate statement. “Steps that lead to a transfer union with joint liabilities would make the EMU weaker, not stronger.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Kasper Viita in Helsinki at kviita1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Wienberg at cwienberg@bloomberg.net