Translation
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MARTTI
AHTISAARI AT A BANQUET
IN HONOUR OF PRESIDENT EMIL CONSTANTINESCU OF ROMANIA
AND MRS. NADIA CONSTANTINESCU
IN HELSINKI ON 27.10.1998
It is a pleasure for me to bid you, Mr. President, your spouse
and your party welcome to Finland. My wife and I find it
especially pleasing that we have been able to receive guests that
are true friends of Finland. We know that this is not your first
visit to Finland and that you and Mrs. Constantinescu are
interested in Finnish culture. Our national epic the Kalevala,
the 150th anniversary of which will be celebrated also
in Romania next year, is well known to you.
You are paying us a visit at a time when European integration is
moving ahead at a good pace. It gives us satisfaction to see that
Romania is a full participant in the European Union enlargement
process launched last spring. During the autumn, your country and
the European Commission will be going through several questions
that are of central importance from the perspective of the
accession process. Finland, in turn, has begun preparing for her
first Presidency of the European Union in the latter half of next
year.
These themes are constantly on the agenda for discussions between
our countries, so I shall content myself here with briefly noting
that Finland staunchly supports EU enlargement. Europe now has a
unique opportunity: we can intensify and broaden cooperation and
at the same time speed up development in countries that do not
yet belong to the EU. Something that makes the enlargement
process especially challenging is the internal work of reform
that is going on parallel to it in the European Union as well as
the fact that the number of candidate countries is greater than
ever in the past. It is an onerous process and one that demands a
lot of both the Union and all countries seeking membership. I am,
nevertheless, convinced that the final result will reward the
effort.
We in Finland admire Romania for her reform policy and determined
progress towards the commencement of pre-accession negotiations.
We support your country in this endeavour. As I have said
earlier, we will be delighted to share with Romania our
experience of our own pre-accession negotiations, which are still
fresh in our memory.
We have been following with great satisfaction the positive
development that has been taking place in many sectors in Romania
in recent years. What has especially impressed us is your
countrys conscious effort to play a stabilising role in
your immediate region. This has begun with determined development
of good-neighbourly relations - especially with Hungary and
Ukraine - and the signing of treaties copperfastening these
relations. The status of the Hungarian minority in Romania has
improved considerably and the fact that this segment of the
population is represented in the national government has added
momentum to development in a completely new way. Romania has
likewise developed forms of cooperation with the countries of the
region, for example in the field of peacekeeping. As a country
that has traditionally contributed to peacekeeping operations,
Finland appreciates Romanias active participation in crisis
management.
Romania is an active participant in the work of the Black Sea
Cooperation Organisation and is striving to develop transport
channels both in her immediate region and through an integrating
Europe. Both projects are an important part of the development of
European transport and energy networks. Finland, too, has an
interest in regional cooperation and is working actively in her
own region, for example in the Council of Baltic Sea States.
Although we are not quite neighbours, I believe we can find forms
of cooperation that will benefit all parties.
Next I want to turn my attention to the development of our
countries bilateral relations.
Bilateral relations between Finland and Romania have always been
without problems, but they have become much more active
especially during your term as President. One way of gauging the
liveliness of relations is to examine the frequency of high-level
visits. These have increased considerably. For example Foreign
Minister Tarja Halonen and Europe Minister Ole Norrback visited
your country last year. The Speaker of the Romanian Senate Petre
Roman was in Finland this summer. Your visit, Mr. President,
crowns the all-round positive development that has taken place
between Finland and Romania in recent years.
Although some Finnish companies have even historically long
experience of cooperation with Romania, it must be noted that the
volume of this cooperation and trade between our countries has
been quite modest. Nevertheless, a positive development can be
observed, especially this year. Many large Finnish companies have
found or are finding Romania. Small and medium enterprises have
likewise achieved positive results there. Finland, in turn, urges
Romanian companies to be more active in our open market. The
economic part of your visit is comprehensive. I hope that the
Finnish-Romanian corporate symposium arranged for tomorrow will
achieve plenty of concrete results.
We in Finland are very aware of Romanias efforts as she
struggles with the severe difficulties of a transitional economy.
You have our support and sympathy. We have just amended the
treaty between our countries covering relations on the
honorary-consul level. The opportunity that this provides to
create a network of honorary consulates will certainly contribute
to promoting relations between our countries in the commercial
sphere.
I absolutely must mention cultural relations between us. A lot
has happened in the cultural sector in recent times. In the past
few years Romania has been welcoming the output of Finnish
contemporary artists with open arms. The film director Aki
Kaurismäki has been especially popular. Also known in Romania is
the writer and actress Anna-Leena Härkönen, who has visited
your country; indeed, the first part of a series written by her
was screened on Romanian state television yesterday evening. One
of the main events on the programme of this years Helsinki
Festival was an exhibition of valuable works, on loan from
museums in your country, by the world-famous Romanian sculptor
Constantin Brancusi.
Our bilateral relations in the economic and cultural sectors are
likewise developing positively. Through them, direct contacts
between our citizens are becoming livelier.
Mr. President,
Mrs. Constantinescu,
My view is that Finland and Romania are quite obviously now
finding each other within a framework of all-round international
cooperation, especially on the European level.
Now I would like to propose a toast to your health and to good fortune and success in cooperation between our countries.