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Finland supports eurozone expulsion proposal

01 November 2011, 17:09 CET
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(HELSINKI) - Finland is ready to investigate amending the EU constitution to allow countries to be expelled from the eurozone, a memo from a parliamentary committee responsible for EU affairs revealed Tuesday.

The memorandum, dated October 25 but published on the committee's website on Tuesday, outlined tentative support for a Dutch proposal to reform the EU constitution.

"Finland is prepared to look into the possibility of adding provisions to the founding agreement for expulsion from the euro," it said.

The memorandum refers to calls by the Netherlands at previous eurozone meetings to amend the EU constitution to allow for the expulsion of rogue member states.

"The Netherlands has proposed constitutional reform as a last ditch measure to deal with countries guilty of chronic rule-breaking by withdrawing their voting rights and possibly expelling them from the eurozone as would be done from the union," the report stated.

However, Finland was unsure about stripping members of voting rights.

"Finland is doubtful about the benefits of removing members' voting rights as well as the ability to implement this," the committee noted.

While the memo made no mention of Greece, it came to light just hours after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou called a referendum on a rescue deal to stop the eurozone crisis, which analysts say reopens doubts about the future of the eurozone.

The memo noted that the Dutch plan is just one of a number of amendment proposals put forward. Others include the establishment of an independent EU budget commissioner as well as other officials responsible for budgetary affairs.

The Council of Europe has made it clear that constitutional reform can only be undertaken with the support of all 27 member states. The question of possible reform will be taken up at a meeting of members of the Council of Europe on December 9.


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copy of document

Posted by Steve Peers at 01 November 2011, 17:51 CET
Could you please place online a copy of this memorandum, or at least a link to it - even if it is only available in Finnish.