It is becoming increasingly clear to us Åland people that we need real and direct influence at the EU level.
in Finland there are many things to be proud of. Finland is known as a country where principles are followed in practice and commitments are respected. The information recently given by the Parliament that Åland will not get a seat in the European Parliament was therefore a big disappointment.
When Åland joined the EU together with Finland, the powers were transferred from both the parliament and the regional parliaments of Åland to the EU. This is compensated by the voting power that Finland received in the EU Council and seats in the European Parliament, which Åland did not receive at all. Obviously, this is not fair. The Constitutional Law Committee also stated in its statement that Åland's demands are completely understandable due to Åland's special status and it should be taken into account that Åland partially has its own legal system.
Constitution Committee however, starts on a very difficult path when talking about the “proportional election method” and the “principle of equal suffrage”. This could have been of some importance if the direct proportional election method was followed in the European Parliament elections. However, the seats in the European Parliament are not distributed among the member states according to population, instead it has been considered important to take other values into account in the calculation.
If the seats were distributed proportionally, Finland would not have fifteen seats but a maximum of nine. However, this does not seem to be a problem for the Constitutional Law Committee, which has never demanded a reduction in Finland's number of seats in the European Parliament. Finland, on the other hand, has always strongly opposed proposals that would increase proportionality in the European elections, such as the introduction of transnational electoral lists.
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A strong Åland is both a strength and a matter of honor for Finland.
The principle of proportionality is important to the Constitutional Law Committee as long as it concerns Åland, but it is not as important for Finland and the EU. Frankly speaking, a stable democracy like Finland should not condescend to apply principles arbitrarily. We Åland people would like Finland to consider it a matter of honor to treat its only self-governing region as well as other member states treat their own.
Åland about securing opportunities for influence in the EU is beautifully written. The Constitutional Law Committee has considered Åland's participation in the handling of EU affairs as an important issue, and the government program states that Åland's opportunities to influence EU affairs will be safeguarded. However, mere words are not enough.
It is becoming more and more clear to us Åland people that we need real and direct influence at the EU level, so that we have the necessary tools to create the conditions for people's well-being. A strong Åland is both a strength and a matter of honor for Finland. Let's work together to secure it in the future as well.
Ingrid Zetterman
Minister, Åland Provincial Government
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