Finnish PM defends input of small EU states

Complaining of 19th century attitudes among some of the EU's larger states, the Finnish Prime Minister, Mr Paavo Lipponen, yesterday warned against upsetting the balance of the EU by the disregarding of the rights of small member states.

Mr Lipponen, who was presenting the programme of the Finnish presidency of the union, which starts on July 1st, told journalists here it was "in the nature of big countries to assert themselves, but, for balance in the Community, small countries must be in the picture" when it came to making major appointments.

Speaking later to Brussels-based correspondents, the Finnish president, Mr Martti Ahtisaari, who played a key role in brokering the end of the Kosovo fighting, called for new means of empowering the UN to act against rogue states. He said it was important to move to a more consistent and unified position - "we need more discussion on the ground rules".

Specifically, he suggested, it might be possible for the International Court of Justice in the Hague to rule that a state had failed in its responsibilities to its citizens through gross violations of rights, thus providing a legal basis for UN Security Council interference in its internal affairs.

Mr Lipponen was reflecting widespread anger among the heads of government of smaller member states of the EU at what they saw as the monopolising by the larger states of a number of key international posts at the Berlin and Cologne summits.

And he called on the commission president-designate, Mr Romano Prodi, to restore balance in appointments in his nomination of commission portfolios.

"It's a real test now for the union that it should reaffirm the principle that the union is there for all the member states and all citizens and must not accept any tendencies to create a directorate," he said.

The term "directorate" is often used to describe a behind-the-scenes caucus of three or four large member states in which they effectively impose their agenda on the rest of the EU. "In big countries many still have illusions of the 19th century," he said. "For small countries deepening of integration means we decide at a common table, not outside."

The Finnish presidency faces its biggest challenge in managing the aftermath of Kosovo, the putting into place of both the reconstruction of the country and a stability pact for the Balkan region.

Its agenda of routine work has been disrupted by the resignation of the commission, but a summit in October is expected to see significant advances in asylum and immigration policy, while another in December is likely to see the stepping up of the enlargement process. A major "millennium" declaration setting out the future course of the EU and a charter of citizens' rights is also expected in December. And the Finns also face the challenge of steering the preparation of the EU's position on the next round of world trade talks.

Speaking in the grounds of the presidential summer palace, Kulturanta, on the island of Luonnonma on the southwest coast, Mr Ahtisaari also called on the West to make the re-establishment of a free media in Serbia a priority.

Democracy would deal with problems like President Milosevic, he said, rejecting the idea that the UN should set Mr Milosevic's departure as a condition for aid. What would happen if he was replaced by another on the war crimes list, he asked.

He said there was agreement at international level that help for Serbia had to be limited to humanitarian aid, "but there is room in how we interpret humanitarian assistance".

But he was critical of the initial slowness of the NATO forces in disarming the Kosovo Liberation Army, acknowledging that he had received a call from Mr Milosevic last week and passed on his complaint.