“It’s good that we’re still at the negotiating table and able to talk about things together,” he commented as he left the estate house.
Marin on Friday suspended the talks for one day, because of differences of opinion between the five party turned out to be bulky, which pushed the government to the question of destiny. Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko (In the middle) on Saturday stated that a government that cannot make decisions about managing the economy cannot “take care of its other duties either.”
The Treasury minister Matti Vanhanen (Center) told YLE that the framework session, which is typically a fairly straightforward process, has been reminiscent of coalition formation talks.
Negotiations have reached a stalemate, in particular due to the millions of euros in spending cuts requested by the Center, According to Helsingin Sanomat. Employment measures and the energy use of peat have also caused friction between the parties.
Peat production, which is a source of employment for just over 2,000 people, has highlighted the conflict between the Centre’s regional political interests and the Green Alliance’s climate goals. Peat produces about six to seven percent of energy, but it accounts for 20 percent of Finland’s energy production’s greenhouse gas emissions. Its emissions are 12% higher per unit of energy than coal, According to the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL).
Basically, the question is how peat producers should be supported when the phasing out of peat in energy production continues: with subsidies or tax cuts, as proposed by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
“I can’t get the idea of abruptly stopping domestic energy production while continuing to import fossil goods into our boilers and looking abroad for the white peat and peat bed needed in greenhouses and livestock farms,” Saarikko said.
The Green League has dropped the idea of cutting the peat tax.
“We don’t compromise on commonly agreed goals, although they can be a little painful. When you have a commonly agreed goal, you need to focus on finding ways to achieve that goal – not ways not to achieve that goal.” Emma Kari, Chairman of the Green Parliamentary Group stated To Helsingin Sanomat on April 17.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page