The new Finnish government could offer a natural ally for David Cameron

Following elections in April, the new Finnish government was finally appointed at the end of May. Tapio Raunio assesses the makeup of the new government, noting that its key difficulty is likely to be the implementation of economic reforms. He also writes that with the leader of the Eurosceptic Finns Party, Timo Soini, holding the portfolio for EU affairs, the government could offer a natural ally for David Cameron in his attempts to renegotiate the UK’s terms of membership

The European Parliament elections in Finland are unlikely to see a significant swing in support toward the Eurosceptic Finns Party

With Finland due to hold parliamentary elections in 2015, the European elections in May will be viewed as an indicator of where the major parties stand with the electorate. Tapio Raunio gives an overview of the campaign, noting that European Parliament (EP) elections in Finland are traditionally highly ‘candidate centred’ due to the use of open party lists. Nevertheless one of the main areas of interest in the campaign is the performance of the Eurosceptic ‘Finns Party’, who had a breakthrough in the last parliamentary elections in 2011. He writes that while the Finns Party are still holding firm in the polls, the fact that their charismatic leader, Timo Soini, is not standing for an EP seat leaves them without a much needed leading candidate in the election

Alexander Stubb’s transition to Finnish Prime Minister ensures Finland will have a pro-EU leader despite a Eurosceptic public

On 14 June, Alexander Stubb was selected as the new leader of Finland’s ruling National Coalition Party, ensuring that he will become the country’s next Prime Minister. Tapio Raunio writes on the impact the appointment will have ahead of the country’s 2015 parliamentary elections. He argues that Stubb’s pro-EU views and desire to take Finland into NATO will set the background for the upcoming election campaign, with the Eurosceptic Finns Party in particular likely to lead opposition to the government

Finland’s 2015 parliamentary elections: a final look at the parties and the polling

Finland will hold parliamentary elections on 19 April. Tapio Raunio previews the vote, noting that the Centre Party, which lost power after suffering a dramatic drop in support in the 2011 elections, is set to regain its position as the largest party in the country. With Finland possessing a tradition of ideologically fragmented coalitions, however, the election remains all to play for with several smaller parties vying to enter the next government

Continuity in Finland as Sauli Niinistö is re-elected as President

On 28 January, Sauli Niinistö was re-elected as Finland's President in the first round of voting. Tapio Raunio explains that with voters clearly approving of Niinistö's track record in office, the other mainstream candidates found it extremely difficult to challenge him. The result means continuity for Finnish politics: Niinistö is not in favour of NATO membership, but supports the development of the EU’s security and defence policy, bilateral security policy cooperation with Sweden, and maintaining close ties with NATO

Destined for Irrelevance? Subsidiarity Control by National Parliaments

The Lisbon Treaty introduced the ‘early-warning mechanism’, with national legislatures assigned the right to monitor whether initiatives for EU laws comply with the principle of subsidiarity. Does the mechanism really empower national parliaments by giving them a collective veto in EU politics or will it remain largely unused by domestic MPs? This paper leans towards the latter interpretation, arguing that the whole mechanism was mainly introduced in response to legitimacy concerns. It is a rather harmless procedure, with only a marginal impact on the EU’s legislative process. The incentive structure simply works against individual MPs, political parties or parliaments making active use of this instrument. When placed in the larger context of the role performed by national parliaments in EU politics, the early-warning mechanism can be seen to reinforce the perception of domestic MPs acting as the ‘gatekeepers’ of European integration

The Impact of the European Union on National Legislation. ZEI Discussion Paper C240 2017

From the Introduction. “Today it is a tragedy that the European Union (EU) – that body long ago established with the high and noble motive of making another war impossible – is itself beginning to stifle democracy, in this country and around Europe. If you include both primary and secondary legislation, the EU now generates 60 % of all the laws that pass through Westminster.”1 This claim was made by Boris Johnson, one of the leading figures of the ‘leave’ side during the Brexit referendum campaign. Referring to a video footage of Commissioner Viviane Reding, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) went even further than that, arguing that the figure was as high as 75 or 80 %

Cautious Voters - Supportive Parties: Opinion Concruence between Voters and Parties on the EU Dimension

This article analyses party-voter congruence on European integration matters in the EU member states. Drawing on existing research, we put forward eight hypotheses which are tested with data from the EES2004 survey. We show that parties are closer to their voters on the left/right dimension than on the EU dimension. Parties are also more supportive of European integration than are their voters. Party system characteristics (number of parties, ideological range) did not affect opinion congruence. The responsiveness analysis at the party level shows that government parties were less responsive than opposition parties; party size was related to responsiveness, with opinion congruence higher in smaller parties; and responsiveness was lower among centrist parties. Voters are also better represented on the EU dimension by their parties in the new than in the older EU member states. This difference may result from the EU occupying a more central place on the political agendas of the new member states

Party politics or (supra-)national interest? External relations votes in the European parliament

Parliamentary votes on foreign and security policy have often been demonstrations of patriotism and unity. This resonates with the notion that external relations are exempted from party politics, or that politics stops at the water's edge. Its supranational character makes the European Parliament (EP) a particularly interesting laboratory for subjecting this thesis to empirical scrutiny. Analyzing roll-call votes from 1979 to 2014, this article shows that group cohesion and coalition patterns are no different in external relations votes than in other issue areas. Members of the EP (MEPs) do not rally around a European Union flag, nor do MEPs vote as national blocs in votes on foreign and security policy, trade, and development aid. Based on statistical analyses and interviews with parliamentary civil servants, it concludes that the EP stands out by having party politics dominate all business, including external relations