Parliament approves €750b EU coronavirus recovery package

The parliament on Tuesday approved the 750 billion euros European Union coronavirus recovery package.

The proposal was passed by 134 votes to 57 where six lawmakers remained absent and two refrained from the voting.

To be adopted, the proposal required at least two-thirds of the votes cast in the plenary session.

The parliament also approved the eight resolutions recommended by the Finance Committee in its report.

All the lawmakers of the five-party alliance government, excepting the Suomen Keskusta (Centre Party of Finland), who were present in the parliament cast votes in favour of the proposal while all lawmakers of the main opposition Perussuomalaiset (Finns Party) and another opposition SuomenKristillisdemokraati (Christian Democratic Party) voted against the package.

Two lawmakers of Keskusta cast votes against the proposal while one remained absent.

One MP of the ruling Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue (Social Democratic Party of Finland-SDP) and four MPs of ruling Vasemmistoliitto (Left Alliance) also remained absent.

Most of the MPs of another opposition the Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP), however, cast votes in favour of the package.

Twenty six lawmakers of Kokoomus supported and 10 opposed the proposal while two refrained from the voting.

After the first vote, on approval of the own resources decision, Parliament also voted on eight draft resolutions which were proposed in the Perussuomalaiset's dissension to the Finance Committee report.

These votes were between the Finance Committee report and the Perussuomalaiset's draft resolutions and decided by a simple majority. Parliament rejected the Perussuomalaiset's proposals.

Earlier, the four-day plenary debate on EU's own resources decision ended early Saturday morning.

On May 5, the Parliamentary Finance Committee supported the European Union coronavirus recovery package and recommended that Finland should approve the package.

The committee in its report proposed that Parliament approves the Council decision on the European Union's own resources system made in 2020.

It also said that to be adopted, the proposal must be supported by at least two-thirds of the votes cast in a plenary session.

The Committee proposed that Parliament approves the European Council decision of 2020 on the European Union's own resources system.

The Constitutional Law Committee had previously assessed that this arrangement is effectively equivalent to a significant transfer of competences to the European Union.