European Council focused particularly on free trade and UK poisoning case

The tariff decision of the United States and support for the United Kingdom over the Salisbury poisoning case emerged as key themes when the leaders of the EU countries convened in Brussels on 22 and 23 March.

The EU Heads of State or Government spent time on Friday morning discussing the importance of free trade. Information had arrived overnight that the United States will not be imposing steel tariffs on the countries of the European Union, at least for the time being.

“This is good news, of course, but the problem has not gone away. The EU countries must firmly promote free and equitable trade, as this brings growth and jobs. The EU should give added impetus to ongoing trade negotiations, for instance with the South American Mercosur countries and with Japan and Singapore,” said Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

The EU leaders gave their strong support to the United Kingdom following the Salisbury poisoning incident. They agreed with the UK Government’s assessment that Russia is responsible for the attack and that there is no plausible alternative explanation. The decision was also taken to recall the EU’s ambassador to Moscow for consultations.

“The Salisbury case demonstrates that we should continue strengthening our readiness to meet hybrid threats. I proposed that those EU countries which are not yet participants in the Helsinki-based centre for countering hybrid threats should join. Prime Minister May, too, pointed out Finland’s active role in this field,” said Prime Minister Sipilä.

In a separate Euro Summit, the leaders of the euro area member countries discussed the way forward for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The discussion focused especially on the possibility of creating a fiscal capacity for the euro area, including a so-called counter-cyclical fund, and measures to bring about improved economic and fiscal policies.

“Finland formed its position early on, and we have found a number of like-minded countries that have come alongside us,” noted Prime Minister Sipilä.

“I also expressed support for the idea put forward by The Netherlands, that ministers of competition and finance could work together to improve the competitiveness of the euro area. Besides a lack of market discipline, the differences in competitiveness among Member States are a key problem in the monetary union,” said Prime Minister Sipilä.

“The work on taking the EMU forward should now focus more vigorously on reducing the Banking Union risks and developing the European Stability Mechanism so that concrete results can be achieved. Above all, we should prevent excessive indebtedness and should establish procedures for controlled debt restructuring,” Prime Minister Sipilä stated.

“On the other hand, we do not support the ideas about a common mechanism for dealing with cyclical imbalances or a separate euro budget. We don’t need new financing capacities. Instead, Member States should build up their own financial buffers when times are good, ensuring that fiscal policy has scope for manoeuvre when there are downturns. This also applies to Finland,” said Prime Minister Sipilä.

The EU leaders in the European Council’s EU27 format without the United Kingdom were given a situation report on the Brexit negotiations, and they noted that the negotiations had proceeded well. However, nothing is finally agreed until everything is agreed. The EU leaders also approved supplementary guidelines on the framework for a future relationship with the United Kingdom, on the basis of which the European Commission can now begin discussions on the future relationship between the EU and the UK.

Thursday’s European Council discussed digital taxation as presented by the European Commission. Finland considers that the best alternative is an international solution beyond the EU area. According to Prime Minister Sipilä, it is essential to resolve the issue of data ownership. The prime minister already drew attention last week to the problems associated with taxation and data ownership when President of the European Council Donald Tusk visited Finland.

The European Council also decided to ask the European Commission to present an overview of the problems of the single market. Finland is one of the countries that has been actively seeking to move forward in the matter. The single market will be one of the key issues in Finland’s forthcoming EU Presidency.

“The importance of further developing the single market cannot be overemphasised,” stated Prime Minister Sipilä.

Inquiries: Kare Halonen, State Secretary for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 319, Riikka Pakarinen, Special Adviser (EU Affairs), tel. +358 40 580 0833 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office