Goverment recommends ratification of the Treaty of Nice

The Finnish government proposed on 13 June that the President of the Republic submit to Parliament the government’s recommendation on the ratification of the Treaty of Nice. Parliament will hold a preliminary debate on the matter on Monday, 18 June.

The Treaty of Nice and its final act were signed by EU leaders at the summit meeting held in Nice on 26 February 2001. The final act contains 27 provisions which the conference of signatory states have either adopted or taken into account.

The regulations of the Treaty of Nice concern alterations to the Community’s working organs and decision-making structure to enable the enlargement of the Union. The main regulations deal with the weighing of votes in the Council of Ministers, the expansion of qualified majority decision-making, the number of seats of member states in the European Parliament, the composition of the European Commission, the organisation of internal work procedures and the role of the President of the Commission.

The treaty’s coming into effect is conditional on the ratification of all member states.

Further information: Risto Piipponen, head of unit, tel: 1341 6546, and Kaisa Männistö, project assistant, tel: 1341 5072, Unit for General EU Affairs and Coordination.