On Thursday Chancellor of Justice Jaakko Jonkka said that Economic Affairs Minister Jan Vapaavuori didn’t need to recuse himself from handling a proposal for a new permit for a nuclear power plant to be constructed in northwest Finland by the Fennovoima power consortium.
Earlier in the spring Vapaavuori had signed a nuclear power cooperation agreement with the Russian government on behalf of Finland.
Last Saturday two legal scholars had opined that that Vapaavuori may have been disqualified from handling the nuclear plant permit on the basis of his involvement in the inter-governmental cooperation agreement involving the Russian state-owned nuclear contractor Rosatom.
Rosatom also owns a significant portion of the proposed nuclear power plant to be constructed in Pyhäjoki, northwest Finland – some 34 percent.
Formal complaints filed against Vapaavuori's role
On Monday, Chancellor Jonkka received four formal complaints over Vapaavuori’s role in the government’s nuclear permit decision.
Finance Minister and Social Democratic Party leader Antti Rinne also charged that Vapaavuori did not display impartiality in greenlighting a new permit for the Pyhäjoki plant, while rejecting consideration of a new permit application to build a fourth reactor at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in Eurajoki, southwest Finland.
In his decision handed down Thursday, Jonkka ruled that in signing the nuclear cooperation agreement Vapaavuori represented the President, Sauli Niinistö. He also said he saw no indication that the agreement was intended to influence any decision regarding the Fennovoima nuclear power plant permit.
According to Jonkka the minister was merely executing his official duty as Economic Affairs Minister in signing the cooperation agreement, and in proposing that the government agree to revisit a permit for the construction of the Fennovoima-Rosatom nuclear power plant.