Finnish president ratifes EU reform treaty
Helsinki - Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Friday formally ratified the European Union reform treaty. Parliament approved the Lisbon Treaty in June with a clear majority.
Halonen also urged the regional parliament of the Aland islands to ratify the treaty. The islands located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden have autonomous status and constitute Finland's smallest province.
More than 90 per cent of the some 27,000 inhabitants are Swedish- speaking.
While the Aland parliament, known as the Lagting, is currently debating the treaty its consent is not "a prerequisite for the (Finnish) ratification," the Finnish government said.
Aland is seeking to get its own representative to the European Parliament. Finland joined the EU in 1995. (dpa)
