SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND MR.MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A BANQUET IN HONOUR OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND MR. ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI AND MRS. JOLANTA KWASNIEWSKA IN HELSINKI ON 18.5.1998
My wife and I take particular pleasure in welcoming you, Mr. President and Mrs. Kwasniewska, to Finland. We remember well the magnificent hospitality accorded us just over a year ago during our state visit to Poland. We greatly appreciate the interesting discussions that we had as well as your warm attitude to Finland and the Finns. We hope that you will take equally pleasant memories home with you from Finland. The spring here has now reached the same stage as it had in Poland in April last year, but the days are longer. We hope you will enjoy the long daylight hours of the North.
As countries with Baltic coastlines, we are neighbours. Many phases of history bring our countries close to each other, although there have also been plenty of differences between them. At times, we have shared a destiny. The ending of the Cold War brought a decisive turning point in the development of Europe. The independence of the Baltic States was reinstated. A reforming Russia was established after the Soviet empire had collapsed. A Poland free and surrounded by seven neighbours has succeeded in reinforcing her international position. The strengthening of democracy in Poland and the way in which the principles of the market economy have established themselves have delighted us. Freer and more uninhibited movement of people is the factor that is reshaping Europe more profoundly than any other. There are no borders in the Europe of the young.
We in Finland are satisfied with the positive development of our bilateral relations. Your visit, Mr. President, is an important milestone in this and will provide valuable stimuli for our future cooperation. Here in Finland we appreciate the positive climate in relations between our countries and our intensifying political dialogue. After Estonia, Poland is our most important trade partner in Central Europe.
Your visit takes place at an opportune and interesting time. Poland's population of nearly 40 million, steady economic growth and strong cultural traditions accentuate her importance in Europe. European values have a natural place in the country of Mickiewicz, Chopin and Copernicus, which has centuries-old ties with European civilisation.
Finland fully supports enlargement of the European Union, which promotes the stability, security and prosperity of the entire continent. The process will be laborious and demands a strong input on the part of everyone involved. We are unanimous on the political goal, the inescapability of unity. What is centrally important is to see the significant advantages that enlargement will bring both the candidate countries and the Union from the perspectives of political stability and economic vitality.
Poland began her pre-accession negotiations with the European Union one and a half months ago, at the same time as four other Central European countries and Cyprus. We hope that negotiations on separate sub-areas can be proceeded to as soon as possible so that the process can advance effectively. It is obvious that enlargement will require both the candidate countries and the European Union to meet major adjustment-related challenges. We are, however, convinced that Poland will cope well, thanks to the policy of reform that your country has been consistently pursuing for years.
Finland conducted her own pre-accession negotiations about five years ago. The knowledge that we gained from experience then is still fresh in our minds and we have shared it with Poland. We shall be delighted to continue to do so.
Finland will hold the Presidency of the EU for the latter half of next year. That period will see the finalisation of many decisions that will substantially influence the course of European integration over the next few decades. It is our assessment that pre-accession negotiations will also be in an intensive phase during those six months. Finland hopes that the Union that we shall be able to pass on to the next millennium as its heritage will be more dynamic and more effectively functioning than the present one.
Europe is a uniform — but not closed — area of interaction between cultures. Indeed, we must beware of becoming introverted. Citizens must feel that the European Union is their own. In this the future member states have an important task.
Economic relations between Finland and Poland are strengthening. The economic interdependence of the countries around the Baltic Sea is obvious. This also reinforces security. The EU's enlargement and presence is of central importance for the stability of the Baltic Sea region. The Union's expansion into the Baltic States will add stability to the region. European standards require just treatment of minorities. Nor can I imagine anything more likely to guarantee the Kaliningrad region a stable future in a context of European cooperation than EU enlargement.
In building the future security architecture of Europe, strengthening the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe as an instrument for resolving conflicts and preventing them has an important place. For Finland, the OSCE has already become a historically important forum. It pleases us that Poland and her Foreign Minister Mr. Geremek personally have demonstrated energy and skill during their Presidency, which will soon have reached the half-way mark. We give Poland our full support in her demanding task, in which, however, she is helped by her own experience of consolidating democracy, human rights and the market economy.
Our countries have learned during dramatic turns of events in history to appreciate independence as the foundation of stable development. Poland's dynamic development in the present decade is accentuated against this background. Finland, too, has had her own difficult years, but yet we have often been more fortunate. At the end of last year Finland celebrated the 80th anniversary of her having achieved independence. At the end of this year, Poland will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of the restoration of her independence. Next year will bring the 80th anniversary of the establishment of relations between our countries. We have a rich heritage to cherish. That is a foundation on which we can together outline new visions for our cooperation as the new millennium draws close.
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I wish to propose a toast to your health, Mr. President and Mrs. Kwasniewska, to the success of our other Polish guests as well as to the further development of relations between Finland and Poland.