Employers outline priorities for Finnish EU Presidency

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In January 1999, Finland's main employers' confederations, TT and PT, issued a joint statement concerning their priorities for the Finnish EU Presidency in the second half of the year. The organisations state that neither transfer of decision-making to the EU level nor EU legislation are absolute values in themselves.

Finland will hold the EU Council Presidency in the second half of 1999. In January 1999, the country's two main employers' confederations - the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (Teollisuuden ja Työnantajain Keskusliitto, TT) and the Employers' Confederation of Service Industries (Palvelutyönantajat, PT) - issued a joint statement on Business priorities for the Finnish EU Presidency. TT and PT consider the running-in of the euro single currency and the extension and consolidation of the internal market as important, fundamental questions for upcoming EU presidencies. The organisations consider that extension of the market to new applicant countries will provide companies with opportunities, but that at the same time care should be taken that competition is not distorted. Therefore, the extension should be carried out in such a way that long transition periods and widely applied exceptional arrangements will not be needed. The solutions should not lead to increased expenses for the EU.

The employers' organisations state that neither transfer of decision-making to the EU level, nor EU legislation, are absolute values in themselves. At the EU level, concentration should be focused on creating a stable economic environment, ensuring a well-functioning internal market, and promoting free world trade. National decision-making should have priority in the domain of social and employment policy. Subsidiarity should be emphasised in the social dialogue.

"The process of enlarging the EU is considered important from the standpoint of growth in internal markets, stabilisation, and European security. As to the free movement of labour, transition periods should be applied until the applicant countries adapt, de facto, the rules of the EU internal market (FI9807168F)", state TT and PT.