Finland does not advocate or support taking on a new joint debt in the EU, Tytti Tuppurainen (SPD), Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering said on Saturday's Yle TV1 Ykkösaamu programme.
"Finland is not seeking a new common debt for the EU," Tuppurainen emphasised.
A new EU common debt—like the recovery package designed to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic—has re-emerged as a possible solution due to the energy crisis hitting economies.
All countries have mainly supported their own economies in the midst of the energy crisis. Germany recently announced that it would support its citizens and businesses with a hefty package of 200 billion euro.
But the EU Commission would be able to get new EU at a cheaper rate than individual countries, and France is already lobbying for it. On the other hand, EU critics in particular are opposed to joint debt.
"Finland will run out of money"
Germany's giant package and other national support spending have raised concerns about EU unity. The EU's single market is based on strict rules regarding state aid to ensure that competition remains as genuine and fair as possible.
Tuppurainen went on to say that such a situation would be disastrous for Finland.
"The Commission's job is to enforce internal market rules, and Finland is a hawk in this [enforcement]. Finland will simply run out of money if countries start competing to see who can pump the most into their own companies," Tuppurainen noted.
Tuppurainen said the rules must be flexible so that governments can support citizens and businesses. At the same time, flexibility should be ad hoc and carefully considered, with the EU should coordinating with member state governments.
"We must avoid a race to the bottom, where without coordination we start supporting our own companies. That would lead to a complete disintegration of the internal market," Tuppurainen clarified.
Nothing yet ruled out
Finland and other EU member states are now waiting anxiously to see how Germany intends to spend its 200 billion euros.
According to Tuppurainen, it could be acceptable for Germany to spend the money on social security for households or on investments to wean itself off Russian natural gas.
"It is still too early to judge. We don't yet know what Germany will spend 200 billion euros on," said Tuppurainen.
While Tuppurainen said that Finland does not support taking on shared EU debt due to the energy crisis, she added that it was not time to rule anything out.
"The EU should not cut its wings off in advance, but should have the possibility to take exceptional measures if necessary," she said.