Finland has scheduled a debate over its membership of the eurozone.
The parliament will debate the issue, “Fixit,” next year.
The topic was forced onto the agenda by a citizens’ petition which demanded a referendum on membership in the euro. The petition gained the necessary 50,000 signatures to force debate.
The signatures need to be checked, but the petition will continue to circulate until mid-January.
The country’s economy has been contracting for three years. It was the worst performer of any in the eurozone in the third quarter this year.
Some citizens believe the country’s prospects would improve if it reintroduced the markka currency and was able to set its own interest rates. If the markka could devalue, it would bring down the cost of Finnish goods.
Before 1992, Finland devaluated its markka currency many times to improve export competitiveness.
"Since 2008 the Swedish economy has grown by 8%, while ours has shrunk by 6%," said Paavo Vayrynen, a Finnish MEP who launched the initiative.
Officially Finland remains committed to membership of the euro region. A recent Eurobarometer poll showed 64% of Finns in favour of the euro. A year ago, the figure was 69%.
