Finnish PM invites Attac and others to discuss about the future of EU Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (Social Democrat) invites Attac Finland and other organisations to discuss about the future of the European Union. In the letter dated June 25th Lipponen calls for a NGO forum to discuss about EU and it's member states' relations, simplification of agreements, defining the status of the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU and the role of national governments in EU structures. Among the invited are representatives of NGO's, special interest groups, political parties, academical institutions and churches.   70% of Finns support currency transaction tax Recent poll shows that 70% of Finns support currency transaction tax (ie. Tobin tax). Another group of supporters come from the Finnish parliament: only one fifth of the Finnish parliamentarians oppose the tax. Finnish PM Paavo Lipponen (Social Democrat) and Minister of Finance Sauli Niinistö (Conservative) strongly oppose the use of such a tax. "The whole idea is rubbish", says Lipponen.   ATTAC Finland got a kickstart The general founding assembly of ATTAC Finland was a great success. The atmosphere was enthusiasthic, lots of talented and motivated people were present and the media coverage was huge. One of the many highlights of the weekend (19.-20. 5.) was the debate among Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade Kimmo Sasi and the President of ATTAC International, Bernard Cassen. On the hot debate Mr Sasi tried to paint a rosy picture of neoliberalistic globalisation, but Mr Cassen responded with a more realistic vision. When Cassen said to Sasi that he should openly admit that he doesn't care a damn about people but a lot about the interests of capital the audience was really on fire. As one member of the audience asked Mr. Sasi about his ownership of shares of a US weapon industry company, he responded to be a proud partial owner of the company which made the missiles which have helped to depose dictators. Consumer ethics the elite way!   Finnish Government and ATTAC The Finnish Ministry of Finance has commissioned a study on the possibilities of the Tobin tax. The report was finished by the end of November 2000 and the conclusion was that the tax is not technically feasible. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Erkki Tuomioja and the 2nd Minister of Treasury Ms Suvi-Anne Siimes stated that the report was "written with a certain attitude". The Finnish Service Centre for Development Cooperation (Kehitysyhteistyön palvelukeskus, KEPA) responded with a more analytical study written by professor Heikki Patomäki of Nottingham Trent University. At the beginning of February the Government decided to leave the case open but did not agree with the NGO's to make a wider investigation about the Tobin tax.   Contact and more information ATTAC Finland can be contacted by e-mail: attac@kaapeli.fi. The www-pages (with information in Finnish and Swedish) can be found at www.attac.kaapeli.fi. Feedback about this page (comments, suggestions...) can be e-mailed to webmaster: teemu@attac.org.