Opposition parties in Finland have criticised the EU budget deal and coronavirus recovery plan that will see some 1.8 billion euros spent over the next seven years.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday that Finland had achieved what it set out to, with a total of 500 million euros allocated for agricultural subsidies and development of the north and east of the country.
Opposition politicians, however, latched on to the fact that Finland — unlike the so-called 'frugal four' of Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria who had most fiercely resisted the recovery plan — did not get any rebates on its EU membership fees.
"For example the small net contributors [to the EU budget], the so-called 'frugal four', increased their own rebates and benefited from the negotiations in a concrete way," said Finns Party leader Jussi Halla-aho. "Finland's end result in these talks is that Finland gets to pay more. It is difficult to see that Finland got anything from these talks, economically or politically."
Finland's EU membership fees are themselves lower than those four countries, so it is likely to contribute less to the budget over the next accounting period than them even counting the rebates.
Farmers happy with more subsidies
Austria managed to secure extra agricultural subsidies alongside its rebate, but the total impact is difficult to assess, according to farmers' union (MTK) boss Juha Marttila.
"You can ask whether Austria was a little bit more successful," said Marttila. "But this is maybe pointless speculation. The most important thing is that funding continues and in agriculture we get more back per euro that we pay in."
The farmers' lobbyist said he was concerned on Monday night, when his sources had said the size of the subsidies on offer was around half the final 500 million euros, but declared himself satisfied with the end result.
The increase in contributions was inevitable for all member states, as the bloc scrambles to fill the hole in its budget left by the departure of Britain, but the marathon talks over the weekend determined who paid how much, and what the money is going to be spent on.
NCP disappointed over scope of deal
National Coalition party leader Petteri Orpo said that he was disappointed with the scope of the package after spending on climate and research and development was cut back to finance the rebates.
"The size of the package is astronomical, and I'm still not quite sure that it will help Europe recover from the coronavirus crisis," said Orpo.
"In order to renew Europe it would have been important to hold on tight to these important things. They would have been relevant for Europe's recovery."
Political consequences
Antti Ronkainen, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, said that the most significant part of the package had nothing to do with winners and losers in euro terms.
The deal means that for the first time, the bloc is taking on debt jointly to spend on priorities decided by EU bodies.
The amounts and the distribution are not so important, according to Ronkainen, as the precedent this sets for future crises.
"Although the amount going to the commission is 80 billion euros, and that's not so big, the principle is quite important," said Ronkainen. "If there is a new crisis, it will be easier for the EU to take on more debt.
Eurosceptics including Finns Party leader Halla-aho have strongly criticised this move, saying that it breaks the rules on which the EU was founded.
Pro-EU politicians, on the other hand, have been less forthcoming on the issue. With fewer people defending that aspect of the deal, Ronkainen says the public debate has been limited.
"It is dangerous that politicians are not clear about the possible consequences," said Ronkainen. "It is naive to say that we will never do these kinds of things ever again. I think there should have been more public discussion about these issues. The political consequences of this debt should be discussed much more broadly by the politicians."