It is a great pleasure to begin my state trip to Poland with a presentation to the Sejm and Senate foreign affairs committees. This is the first time in my life that I have been in Poland and Warsaw. I much admire the architecture of the Sejm, which immediately reminded me of our own Parliament Building. Indeed, the two structures were built around the same time.

My wife and I are staying at the Belvedere Palace, where General Mannerheim met the hero of the Polish fight for freedom, General Pilsudski, during his visit to Warsaw in December 1919. Mannerheim's memoirs, which have been translated into several languages including Polish, reveal that as a Finn he enjoyed himself very much in Warsaw, where he had built a home before the first world war. He maintained many ties of friendship with Poland and Polish people until the end of his days.

The destinies of our countries and peoples have often impinged. In the new Europe, Finland and Poland are closer to each other. The Baltic Sea is again free. Our countries' political environment has changed utterly. Today, Poland has several new neighboring states, but Finland only one. The future of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and of Belarus and Ukraine as well as how those countries' relations with Russia develop will influence also the security of Finland and Poland.

Finland is active in her own immediate region. We are conscious of our responsibility. The deep standard-of-living gulf at our eastern border and our own national interests oblige us to work with particular diligence in the sectors of nuclear safety, the environment and humanitarian assistance. Finland's role in this respect is unique; after all, we are the only EU member to share a border with Russia. On the other side of that long border are the city of St. Petersburg and the Murmansk base area. Our economic engagement in North-West Russia is considerable. Finland's trade with Russia as a whole is again growing briskly. It grew by nearly a quarter last year.

Our involvement on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland is very active. Finland's interest in Estonia is an example of the dynamic strength of civil society. Interaction in every sphere of life, not to mention numerous private contacts, is livelier than it has ever been in the past. The abolition at the beginning of May of the visa requirement will make it even easier for our two kindred peoples to keep in touch with each other. The future of Estonia is a national matter for Finland.

The same applies for all three Baltic States. Here, the interests of Finland and Poland coincide in a concrete manner. Integration of the Baltic States into European structures is our goal. An excellent example of the new dynamism is provided by broad cooperation that encompasses the entire Baltic sea region and has considerable political significance. Baltic cooperation, in which Iceland and Norway are also participating, reflects the new "northern dimension" that has come into being with enlargement of the EU. The central role of the EU Commission in the Council of the Baltic speaks for itself.

Building up physical communications and all the other infrastructure essential for economic development are investments in the future of our peoples. On the telecommunications side, we are especially proud of Nokia's success in Poland. The emphasis in the development of traffic arteries in Poland is on East-West links. On the other hand, we Finns consider it important to develop North-South links as well. The reaffirmation of the independence of the Baltic States opened up an alternative route to Poland for Finland and onwards to our European export markets. For that reason, the Via Baltica is an important project, especially since it is also the shortest route to Europe for North-West Russia and the Baltic States.

During the recent summit in Helsinki I had the opportunity to discuss cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, especially the development of relations between the Baltic States and Russia, with both President Clinton and President Yeltsin. I have the impression that now is the time to work determinedly to find lasting solutions to the problems that still remain unresolved. Finland's work is constructive and promotes stability in the entire Baltic Sea region.

Finland's choices in relation to security policy are based on our own historical experience. In the light of recent history, our excellent relations with Russia are an achievement of which we have every reason to be proud. Membership of the EU has brought Finland and Sweden even closer to each other. We can say without any exaggeration that Helsinki and Stockholm have probably never concurred in their thinking as completely as they do today.

Finland's relationship with NATO is close. Our decision not to participate in any military alliance has by no means prevented us from participating actively in the NATO Partnership for Peace programme. Today, Finnish and Polish soldiers are together keeping the peace in Bosnia, serving in a Nordic-Polish brigade that is part of an American division. A restructured and evolving NATO is a positive and dynamic ingredient in European politics. That the USA remains in Europe also lies in Finland's interests. We respect Poland's decision to seek NATO membership, believing as we do that all states have a sovereign right to make their own choices with respect to security policy.

The European Union is about to undergo major upheavals. Its next round of enlargement will be especially important for us. Naturally, Finland favours the accession of Poland, which is already in the OECD, and of the Baltic States to membership of the EU. The results of the ongoing Intergovernmental Conference will decisively determine the EU's capacity to enlarge. Many big questions will have to be decided on within the EU over the next few years. Some of those decisions, such as putting the finishing touches to the EU's new budget framework covering the period up to the year 2006, will be taken in autumn 1999, when Finland holds the EU Presidency. The EU's Common Agricultural Policy and its regional and structural policies also face revision.

The EU's enlargement criteria are objective and well-known. Of special importance alongside economic development are rapid enactment of the legislative amendments that EU membership presupposes and creation of administrative capabilities. I am pleased to note that in those matters the parliamentarians of our countries have begun useful cooperation. However, I would like particularly to emphasise the importance of the so-called third pillar, i.e. justice and police questions. The matter is important for Finland, because we bear responsibility for passport and customs controls on our stretch of the EU's external border. For that reason also, a considerable part of the assistance that we have given the Baltic States has been what we call sovereignty support, the purpose of which is to help them create national police forces, customs, frontier guards and defense forces. The security of our societies, the struggle against organised crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking are central questions relating to the future of Europe. I am referring here to Chancellor Kohl's remark that future elections in Europe will be won or lost specifically on third-pillar issues.

Our own experience has shown that there is no alternative to integration. Finland's post-war emancipation was overwhelmingly economic in character, even though its core was political. EU integration - be it a process leading to membership or cooperation that facilitates free trade - is vital for Central and Eastern Europe. This applies to Russia and Ukraine, which have many economic ties with Europe. I am convinced that strengthening economic links with Europe are important also from the perspective of Russia's democratic development. Economic ties with Poland and Lithuania are also a precondition for the stability of the Kaliningrad region.

Poland's success and exceptionally brisk economic growth are an example for all of the economies in transition. I admire the fresh-mindedness of the Polish people and their willingness to make sacrifices. The determination of recent Polish governments to narrow the economic gap with Europe that the lost years caused deserves the support of all of us. We particularly appreciate the fact that Poland, as a significant industrial state, recognises her responsibility for environmental protection. We are proud that Finland played a pioneering role in the ecoconversion sphere by concluding a debt-for-nature swap with Poland.

Poland's determination and responsible politics reflect the great cultural strength of her people, and that strength was in turn uniquely reflected in the post-war cultural climate in this country. Polish cinema, in particular, became well-known internationally. It also opened the eyes of Finnish youth.

Poland's decision to assume the chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1998 bears testimony to your government's dynamic policy. It is a continuation of Poland's successful work on the UN Security Council. Accepting the chair of the difficult and unpredictable OSCE demonstrates the responsibility that Poland feels for her immediate region and the whole of Europe. As the country where the Final Act of the CSCE was signed and is archived, Finland supports the OSCE's work in the new Europe. In particular, we esteem the OSCE's efforts in the field of conflict management. In 1998, all three members of the OSCE's presiding troika will also be members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, if - as we hope will be the case - Norway succeeds Poland in 1999. As we know, Denmark currently chairs the OSCE.

At the OSCE summit in Lisbon last December, I saw with my own eyes the kinds of pressures that can be brought to bear on the country that chairs the organisation. What was at issue then was the Minsk process of mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; Finland co-chaired the process. I believe that Poland's own historical experience and the Poles' linguistic skills will guarantee a successful term in the chair.

As we know, the sea does not divide; it unites, also Finland and Poland. Our work within the OSCE, our troops in Bosnia, our interest in developing the Partnership for Peace, our membership of the Council of the Baltic Sea States as well as Finland's support for Poland's accession to EU membership all demonstrate a new dynamism and political will to ensure the success and irrevocability of the new European development

I admire Poland and her people. I am certain that Poland will once again take her rightful place in Europe. I wish you, esteemed Senators and Deputies, success in your demanding work in the Sejm and the Senate.