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HELSINKI, July 1-- The Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen on Monday underlined the importance of developing the dialogue on value issues between EU member countries. Such dialogue is the one of the ways to promote the rule of law in member countries, she said on national television, Yle. The other tools are the sanctions the EU can levy on its member countries and the incorporation of the application of the EU values into the budgeting process. Commentators have noted that planning of the EU's seven-year fiscal plan (2021-2027) is a crucial process during the Finnish presidency that began on Monday. Besides the traditional issues of how money is being allocated for various sectors, the EU budget is now increasingly seen also a tool for enforcement of EU goals and values. In the budget process, the EU goals on the climate change and its value policies converge and may collide, commentators have said. Finland is suggesting a system where the size of the EU funding given to a country depends on the application of the so-called rule of law principle in the recipient country. The plan concerns especially the cohesion funding that is given to countries whose economic development is at lower level than the EU average. "There are now ways to measure concretely the way the rule of law has been applied", Tuppurainen said on national television. Tuppurainen noted that Finland earlier took up the idea of more dialogue on value questions in the EU, and now Finland suggested an annual system of dialogue. "The rule of law issues will become an everyday matter", she said. | 
