FINLAND RE-ELECTS PRESIDENT BUT POSTPONES RATIFICATION OF EU CONSTITUTION.

• Position: Tarja Halonen - Brief Article

Social Democrat Tarja Halonen won another six-year term as President of Finland on January 29, with 51.8% of the votes, against 48.2% for her challenger, Sauli Niinisto, in the second round of elections. Erstwhile Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Halonen was first elected President in February 2000. The President's role in Finland is relatively limited, with only the power to guide international policies and to name or dismiss ministers. In his message of congratulations to Mrs Halonen, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stressed the importance of this election at a time when the country is preparing for the presidency of the EU during the second half of 2006.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, has finally revealed that the Finnish parliament will not be voting on the ratification of the EU's draft Constitutional Treaty in early 2006 as previously planned. Instead it...