SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI, AT THE ASSEMBLY OF THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION IN PARIS ON 3 JUNE 1997

I would like to share with you my vision of the security of our continent on the eve of the twenty-first century. Europe has come a long way since the Cold War division ended, but the challenge of true unification and sustainable peace remains. Our historic task is to support this dynamic change while also promoting stability.

We are in transition to a truly global era. The end of the Cold War has made it possible to promote Europe's distinctive role and position more dynamically.

The way ahead is to convert the goal of common security into a living reality throughout Europe. The shared values and principles enshrined in the OSCE provide a foundation for co-operation towards that end. European integration is the engine of change that will overcome the legacies of the Cold War.

Just as all regions are benefiting from a uniting Europe, all of them can also contribute to overall security. I shall highlight this point later by taking up the case of my own region, the Baltic and Northern Europe.

Decisions and events that can open a new chapter in European history are either in the pipeline or will face us in the near future.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the frameworks for transition to democracy and a market economy have been established, and the structures of military confrontation have been scaled down to make way for military co-operation and transparency.

We are entering a new phase in international relations, one in which our victories over division and stagnation have to be consolidated throughout Europe. Although the results that transformation is producing may remain disparate for some time to come, a new phase in the development of a democratic and unified Europe is at hand. Suitable instruments are needed to solve the new security problems that are bound to arise.

An effective and enlarging European Union is the core around which the future unification of the continent will take place. The Union has to gain a new and influential role in world affairs. Much remains to be done in this respect. The Union must assume the responsibilities and seize the opportunities inherent in its historic task. Parochialism is a threat that can arise, but one that the members themselves can deal with. Stable and healthy economic and social progress, overcoming the problems of unemployment and recession, is an essential element in building a leading role for the Union. Implementation of economic and monetary union will test the Union's will to look forward and act globally. Global financial stability is urgently needed. The EMU must be part of the emerging structure that will provide it.

The Union is spreading stability through integration and economic prosperity. It is creating the conditions for a European civil society. The Intergovernmental Conference must make the Union a stronger player in European security, and it will. Thanks to a closer link with the Western European Union, the EU will have an enhanced ability to prevent and resolve conflicts.

The Union will soon face another decision that will make and shape Europe: the beginning of the next round of accession negotiations. Membership is not only about the internal market, monetary alignment or global trade; it is also about belonging to the democratic core of nations, and about security through mutual solidarity.

The Union's decision on enlargement must not omit any country or region. Pre-accession co-operation and Europe Agreements will retain their value, ensuring a continued and open process of further integration leading to enlargement.

Europe and the United States must face the twenty-first century as strong partners, bound together by their historical, cultural and economic ties.

The European family is coming together. Along with the Western European Union, the OSCE and that guardian of democratic freedoms the Council of Europe, the European Union and NATO have distinct and vital roles to play in a continent that rejects hierarchies of power, lines of division and closed blocs and promotes freedom of choice, willingness to co-operate and openness.

The North Atlantic Alliance remains a bedrock of security and stability that is important not only for its members but also for its partners. It is vital for Europe that NATO adaptation and enlargement take place with a minimum of tension and a maximum of mutual confidence. The agreement between NATO and Russia goes a long way to achieving this goal, but its real value remains to be tested in practice.

The Western European Union has a growing task as the hinge between the European Union and NATO, bringing together European partners in an innovative way.

Last week, here in Paris, the members of NATO and Russia signed the Founding Act defining their mutual relations. That event can become a milestone on the road to common security in Europe. The Founding Act embodies a determination to work together for an undivided Europe with mutually shared security. No country could greet such an outcome more warmly than mine.

I had the opportunity to follow at close hand the events that led to the breakthrough in NATO-Russian negotiations. The Helsinki summit between President Clinton and President Yeltsin reflected a constructive will to work together to manage change in and adaptation of security arrangements in Europe.

The Paris accord testifies to NATO's preparedness to shoulder a larger role and to Russia's will to engage herself in European security. NATO and Russia bear primary responsibility for preventing military confrontation from re-emerging in Europe or affecting any of its regions. Consultation between them must be an aspect of transparent and broad co-operation in handling the security tasks facing Europe.

I wish to underscore a recently-expressed view to the effect that the conditions have been created for NATO enlargement to include all democratic nations in Europe. A new NATO can fulfil its mission to prevent and contain conflicts throughout the continent.

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the latest piece of the architecture, should be moulded into a forum for genuine security co-operation. An open and productive dialogue and substantive work should find a place in that forum.

Security co-operation in the framework of the NATO-Russian mechanism, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and an enhanced PfP can bring the Euro-Atlantic community together in a more effective and rational manner.

Membership of security institutions is important, but must not be an end in itself. Co-operative structures should be strengthened for all European countries - whether members or partners of the EU or NATO; whether full members of the WEU or not. Broadly-based security co-operation must remain our principal goal.

The enlargement processes under way underline the need to step up efforts towards common security. No country should be left permanently outside against its will, when others join the core structures. No country should be allowed to isolate itself. European and transatlantic security is indivisible. Dividing lines and grey zones must be relegated to history.

The region around the Baltic is both a promise and a challenge for security and prosperity in all of Europe. Co-operation among states, local communities and organisations in the region is transcending deep socio-economic gaps. It is coping with remnants of military build-ups that date from the past era of confrontation and division.

This historical region is reassuming a role as one of the more important building blocks of Europe. Encouraging results have been achieved in the economic field. Reforms are being supported and innovative work is being done in cross-border co-operation. The potential for trade and infrastructural development is enormous. Joint steps have been taken to counter new threats to security such as nuclear and other environmental hazards, organised crime or illegal immigration. The interests of the region are safeguarded in arms control agreements, and new measures to build confidence and security are being discussed.

An economically active and politically dynamic Baltic Sea region can make a vital contribution to the unity of Europe as a whole. But the region is not a separate entity; it will prosper and be secure only if it benefits from the common principles and the broader security structures in the OSCE area.

There are wide opportunities for co-operation to promote security and stability in the Baltic Sea region. It can become a place where local initiative and European responsibility meet to productive effect.

The European Union is strengthening its northern dimension and assuming a central role in the Baltic Sea region. Enlargement of the Union is an essential part of the future of the region. It must also be part of the future of the Baltic States, which have made admirable progress on their road back to Europe.

The Nordic countries are contributing to economic development and to building civil society and stability in their neighbouring areas. Their close historical and cultural ties with the Baltic States are a solid foundation for practical consultation and co-operation.

Russia is an indispensable partner in regional co-operation around the Baltic. Moreover, she plays a prominent role in broader European efforts through her active work in the OSCE, her recently-acquired membership of the Council of Europe and, now, her co-operation with NATO. The European Union's relations with Russia are being developed every day in a region where their territories meet.

An enhanced Partnership for Peace can make an important contribution to regional security.

Resolving open issues or disputes between Russia and the Baltic States is an important element in regional security. The OSCE will continue to have a constructive role. It is of particular importance that the security needs of the Baltic States are taken into account. National defence is a legitimate part of the Baltic States' sovereignty.

Let me proceed to the role of Finland in European and transatlantic security. I will start with a glance at history.

Europe and its values have recurrently come under threat in the course of this century. Like so many other nations, Finland suffered greatly during the Second World War. However, in the two bouts of hostilities in which we were involved during that conflict, the Winter War and in the Continuation War, we escaped foreign occupation and emerged at the end with our democratic institutions intact. By defending herself, Finland contributed to the defence of European values.

During the long decades of the Cold War, Finland pursued a policy of neutrality in adverse circumstances. At the same time, she was integrating, step by step and determinedly, into global and Western European structures. We thereby contributed to building a democratic Europe.

A centrepiece of Finnish foreign and security policy is the will to help bury past tensions and create an undivided Europe which is secure for all nations. The OSCE provides such an inclusive and irreplaceable framework. For Finland, membership of the European Union is a basic choice for stability and prosperity in an integrating Europe. We also value our role as an active observer in the WEU as well as our growing co-operation with NATO in the Partnership programme.

By joining the European Union, while remaining militarily non-allied, we have contributed to the management of change and the promotion of stability in our part of the continent. Those will remain our policy goals. Every nation has the right to decide which stance serves its own security and that of its region best.

Finland takes her security seriously. Throughout the Cold War, the will of the Finnish people to defend their country, whatever the circumstances, remained strong. Finland is not a security vacuum. We work hard to build and maintain an independent and credible national defence - despite the budgetary constraints that we share with all European countries. Investing in defence also enables us to join others in collective efforts in the field of crisis management.

Peacekeeping has been part of Finland's international identity. Our military personnel have for decades been participating in UN peacekeeping operations, and especially cooperating with Nordic counterparts. Finnish capabilities are being enhanced and legislation has been amended to enable us to participate in demanding crisis management such as the Petersberg tasks of the WEU and the EU as well as NATO-led peace-support missions.

Let me now express some thoughts about the role of the WEU.

Improved security will come from combining European efforts with a lasting and viable transatlantic link. There is room for improving capabilities in crisis management, but no justification for the duplication of efforts and resources.

The European Union has to have a central role in European security befitting its political and economic weight. The Finnish-Swedish proposal that crisis management be added to the competence of the Union, and a closer link with the WEU created to facilitate implementation of thse tasks aspires towards that end. This idea is broadly supported by members and meets both current needs and those that are likely to arise in the foreseeable future. All members of the Union should be able to participate on an equal footing in these activities.

Decisions by NATO have given the WEU a clearer operative role, providing the Europeans with the option of calling on the support of NATO assets and capabilities to help with crisis management. Those resources would also be used for any operations that the European Union might initiate.

Naturally, all countries that contribute troops have to have an effective say in how they are deployed and used in the field. It is important to allow all twenty-eight of the WEU's partner countries to participate as broadly as possible in operations and their planning. What really matters in military operations is a country's willingness and ability to participate, not its status.

European countries have responded to the call of the international community and sent troops to help stabilise Albania. The operation proves that when there is a political will there will also be flexible ways. We Europeans must constantly ask ourselves what the purpose of institution-building is. We should be able to use the institutions that have been created for crisis management, such as the WEU. Especially for smaller countries like Finland, participation is easier in an established institutional context.

The security and well-being of every individual and citizen is the ultimate purpose of international co-operation. In the new Europe, governments are uniting in their respect for human rights and in working for social equity. That states recognise this broad concept of security as lying in their common interest is an historic achievement.

A uniting Europe draws its dynamics from economic and political forces.

Economic integration lowers barriers among participants and stimulates regional co-operation.

Security arrangements that are mutually reinforcing rather than competing create the foundation for peaceful co-operation. In this way, we can build a Europe strong enough to face the challenges of the next millennium, both at home and in the global context.

The 20^th century will soon be over. It will be remembered for two destructive world wars and a Cold War based on nuclear deterrence and ideological division of the world. The end of the century will be remembered also for growing opportunities. Now, we have to seize them. Contemplating the tragedies and opportunities of our century, Carl Sagan once asked: "Would it be possible that we humans are at last coming to our senses and beginning to work together on behalf of the species and the planet?". Let us work together that this vision may finally come true.