Finns 'satisfied' with results of Presidency
As the end of its EU Council Presidency draws near, Finland has declared itself 'satisfied' with the results of its work over the last six months. A major achievement of the Finnish Presidency was the agreement on the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said, 'lays the foundations for Europe's future competitiveness'. The Finns placed a strong emphasis on innovation during their Presidency. It was high on the agenda at the European leaders' informal meeting in Finland in October, and later on in the year the Competitiveness Council set out its strategic priorities for innovation at EU level. 'We all agree that Europe needs a more focused innovation policy,' Mr Vanhanen told the European Parliament on 18 December. 'We cannot maintain our current level of prosperity unless we stay genuinely competitive and cultivate our skills as the basis for success.' However, Mr Vanhanen cautioned that work must now be done to implement the innovation strategy. 'Now that the groundwork has been done, it is for the spring European Council to formulate some forward-looking innovation policy guidelines,' he commented. Other highlights of the Finns' Presidency include the agreement on REACH, which will see a complete overhaul of the EU's chemical legislation, and a good deal of work on climate change, both at the UN Climate Change Conference in Nairobi and in bilateral meetings with other countries and regions.
Countries
Finland