Could ?land secede from the EU? Where the f#$% is ?land?

David Rennie has a story in the Daily Telegraph suggesting that a very small cluster of Finnish islands could cause some headaches for the European Union: In the decade since they voted to join the European Union the islanders of the ?land archipelago in the Baltic Sea have been outvoted and overruled by Brussels, time and again. Now ?land, a unique, autonomous region of Finland, is about to teach Brussels a lesson in democracy it may never forget. Thanks to a quirk of early 20th-century history, ?land's 26,000 people are essentially sovereign co-rulers of their home nation of Finland. As such, they can veto any international treaty that Finland wants to enter, including EU treaties. And the islanders are threatening to do just that when the European Commission attempts to revive the moribund EU constitution later this year. But last week the archipelago's head of EU affairs, Britt Lundberg, travelled to Brussels - a day-long trek - to deliver a warning that dismally low public opinion on Europe could mean Alanders prevent Finland from ratifying the constitution. The islanders' revolt has been brewing for some time. First, this community of Swedish-speaking Finns lost the right to fish at sea with traditional nets. Then ?landers saw their beloved spring duck hunting virtually abolished. To the ?landers' final outrage, local laws on consuming "snus" or Swedish chewing tobacco, are about to be quashed by the European Court of Justice.... Brussels is trapped in a "Catch 22" situation of the EU's own making. Snus, a form of chewing tobacco, has been outlawed by EU fiat in every nation except Sweden, which secured a -special opt-out as a condition of its joining the EU, and in every region - except ?land. The Commission recently took Finland to court to quash ?land's snus law. But Finland has no power to change that law. Finland does not control laws covering health in ?land; ?land does. ?land is not allowed to defend its law before the justices in Luxembourg because the court recognises only nations. So the court is set to convict and fine Aland, without allowing the island's government to plead its case.... The head of the ?land government, Roger Norlund, admitted that he did not even like snus. To him, the row is philosophical. "?land finds small-scale solutions to its problems. But the EU model is one of large-scale solutions, and harmonisation." Tomas Grun?r, a navigator on the big boats, uses snus "24 hours a day". "It keeps me relaxed," he said. "I thought the EU was a good idea, but now I think it sucks." For more on why snus is such a big deal in ?land, check out this Brussels Journal post. Rennie might be exaggerating ?land's influence just a wee bit. It's true that the Finnish Customs Service confirms the special tax and regulatory status of the island. However, if you go to the ?land Islands' official home page, you discover the following: Foreign affairs is not transferred to ?land under the Autonomy Act, but remains under the control of the Finnish Government. Even so, ?land has a degree of influence on international treaties that contain provisions relating to areas where ?land is the competent authority. The Autonomy Act states that an international treaty of this kind entered into by Finland requires the consent of the Parliament of ?land to become valid also in ?land. Thus, when Finland became a member of the European Union in 1995, ?land?s accession was dependent on the consent of the Parliament. After the population had expressed its opinion in two separate referendums and it had been decided that ?land?s relationship to the EU would be regulated in a special protocol, the Parliament of ?land expressed its consent. The protocol, which is part of Finland?s treaty of accession, states that ?land shall be regarded as a third territory with respect to indirect taxation. It also contains certain special provisions relating to the purchase of real property and the right to conduct a business in ?land, and confirms ?land?s special status under international law. (emphasis added) So, if I read this correctly, ?land can block the proposed European constitution from applying to its jurisdiction -- but it doesn't hold a veto over the rest of Finland. I will happily defer to real international lawyers on this question of law that probably interests only me. Click here if you want to know the historical reasons for ?land's special status. For some irrational reason, I do find it amusing that a small jurisdiction of 26,200 people could decide to stymie the mighty, mighty European Commission.