ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI
AT THE COMPLUTENSIAN UNIVERSITY OF MADRID, 2 FEBRUARY 1999
Finland on the European
Political Scene
et me begin by thanking the Rector and the Complutensian
University for their kind invitation. I consider it a great
honour to be the first Finnish head of state to be accorded the
privilege of speaking at this prestigious seat of learning.
The history of Finland in the century now drawing to a close has
been closely linked with great changes in Europe. A hundred years
ago, my country was a grand duchy within the Russian Empire. Then
in 1917, amid the turmoil of the First World War, Finland joined
the family of independent nations.
In the late 1930s, when the Third Reich and the Soviet Union
haggled over their respective spheres of interest, Finlands
role in the bargain they struck was that of small change. But we
defended ourselves against aggression in 1939-44 and preserved
our independence.
During the Cold War era, we avoided involvement in disputes
between great powers and pursued a policy of neutrality. It was
not a matter of evading our international responsibility, but
rather of constructive participation, on a basis of reality, in
activities that could lead to concrete results. Thus Finland has
been contributing to UN peacekeeping operations since the Suez
Crisis in 1957 and has been active in the work of international
organisations.
Finland played a central role in the so-called Helsinki Process,
which led to the historic summit in summer 1975 at which the
Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
was signed. This was a considerable contributory factor in the
process that led to the Cold War being ended and consigned
confrontation between Eastern and Western Europe to history. The
Madrid review conference in the beginning of the 1980s was a
decisive turning point in this respect. The Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe now plays a central role in
preventing conflicts and promoting a dialogue on security in
Europe, both within and between states.
The ending of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet
Union utterly changed Finlands security environment, and we
joined the European Union in 1995. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
have regained their independence and are making rapid progress
towards membership of the Union.
Next I should like to review, briefly, the history of relations
between Finland and Spain.
The first diplomatic link between Finland and Spain was a rather
tenuous one. It came about in 1896, when the Government of Spain
appointed the prominent intellectual and author Angel Ganivet as
its consul in Helsinki, the capital of the Grand Duchy of
Finland. His experiences there inspired him to write his classic
"Cartas finlandesas". In those days, naturally,
the consulate at which Ganivet served was administratively
subordinate to the Spanish Embassy in St. Petersburg.
Direct diplomatic relations between us were established in
September 1918. In January of the same year, Spain had been one
of the very first countries in the world to recognise our
independence.
In the period between the world wars, contacts between Finland
and Spain mostly had to do with trade. Political relations
between us were correct, albeit distant. The Finns followed the
Spanish Civil War with a sense of shock and upset.
After the Second World War, official relations between us were
upgraded to ambassadorial level in 1957. Ties between us have
been broadening ever since. Trade has flourished and Finnish
industry began establishing in Spain as early as the 60s. Finnish
tourists "discovered" Spain in the same decade and your
country has become their most popular destination in southern
Europe.
Relations between Finland and Spain moved onto the highest plane
in 1975 when His Majesty King Juan Carlos, then the Crown Prince,
paid us an official visit. My predecessors Urho Kekkonen and
Mauno Koivisto both visited Spain and His Majesty King Juan
Carlos came to Finland for the second time in 1989. Visits on the
prime ministerial and ministerial levels have been exchanged with
increasing frequency. Economic and cultural interaction between
our countries has likewise been gaining in intensity.
Finlands accession to membership of the European Union in
January 1995 has naturally increased cooperation between our
countries quite substantially. When we add to that our very
active involvement in the work of international organisations, we
can nowadays ask whether any areas at all still remain outside
the scope of Fenno-Spanish cooperation. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank my many Spanish colleagues for excellent
cooperation during my international career.
Both Finland and Spain live on the borders of Europe, one on the
northern, the other on the southern. From the perspectives of
both, the cultural and political Europe is easier to conceive of
as a continent of diversity. In my view, our European identities
- which formed the starting points on which the creation of the
EU was based - can encounter each other in a strong spirit of
understanding.
Finlands European identity has a Nordic accent for which we
can thank both our geographical location and our history,
Our society is founded on consent and agreement. Citizens
participate extensively in decision-making on matters with a
bearing on themselves. As a nation we are united also as a
community of values. We have the wealth of our countrys two
languages, Finnish and Swedish. Municipal self-government is
founded on an old Nordic tradition. The percentage of Finnish
women who work outside the home is one of the highest in the
world and this has had the effect of increasing real gender
equality. Women are strongly represented in Parliament and the
Government. Legislation is based on a functioning system of
pluralistic democracy. The transition to the EU era has proceeded
on a broad front right across our society. We are now taking the
first steps in changing over to the euro.
It has been understood that industrial innovation is a key factor
in success. Therefore our industrial sector has been encouraged
to put resources into research and development and our social
policy is designed to give it every support in this respect. Our
consensual society is acquiring an additional feature, as a
result of which we are entitled to talk also of an information
society. The revolution in information technology has transformed
our country into one that is highly networked and very open to
the rest of the world through its external links. For a small
country like Finland, the Union as a single market area offers a
great relative advantage when it comes to commercialising
innovations on a production scale.
The Barcelona Process has added a new southern dimension to
Finnish foreign policy. We have adjusted well to the
Mediterranean configuration. Promoting stability on the European
Unions southern flank lies in the interest of Finland and
of every other member state.
Stability can be promoted by expanding economic cooperation and
integration. Within the Euro-Mediterranean process, the creation
of a Euro-Med free trade area by the year 2010 is a central and
challenging goal. Considerable progress has been made in the
negotiations for a Mediterranean stabilisation agreement. Finland
has given her active support to the EUs Mediterranean
members in their efforts to promote stability, economic
development and secure borders in the south. The entire Union
will benefit from success in these endeavours. We have also been
devoting a lot of attention and effort to environmental
cooperation in the Mediterranean and a ministerial conference on
this theme took place in Helsinki in summer 1997.
The accession of Finland and Sweden thoroughly changed the
situation at the northern end of the EU. For one thing, the Union
now has a common border 1,300 kilometres long with Russia. Future
rounds of enlargement will make the Baltic to all intents and
purposes the Unions first inland sea, but above all the
importance of Russia as a next-door neighbour will increase even
further.
Russias importance to the Union easily tends to be
underestimated. From the perspective of trade statistics, Russia
is a fairly modest partner for most member states. When one
examines the matter from the other direction, however, a
different picture emerges: about 40 per cent of Russias
foreign trade is with the Union. In the energy sector and
especially as a natural gas producer, Russia is of strategic
importance from the Unions perspective. With the
Unions own gas resources being gradually depleted and yet
demand growing, Russias strategic importance in the energy
sector is steadily increasing. Although the EUs
Mediterranean members attach great importance to North Africa and
the Caspian Sea region as suppliers of oil and gas, it lies also
in their interests to try to broaden their range of sources. Thus
we all have a stake in safeguarding the Unions
energy-related interests both south and north.
A self-isolating or isolated Russia would gain in significance -
in a negative sense- from the Unions point of view. One of
the most central goals in the common EU strategy on Russia now
under development must be to link that country more closely into
the process of European integration.
The need for cooperation between the Union and Russia is even
more obvious in the regions along their common border. An
indication of todays problematic situation is the gap
between standards of living on either side of the Fenno-Russian
border. Wage differences are one example of the depth of the
gulf: since the value of the rouble slumped, Finnish teachers and
nurses receive 50 times as much as their Russian counterparts.
Although it is Russia that bears primary responsibility for her
own situation, the Union can try to promote a more favourable
development by broadening cooperation.
The aim of the Northern Dimension policy is to define the
European Unions common interests in the Baltic and Barents
Sea regions. The Unions strategy on Russia and its Northern
Dimension complement each other. It has been gratifying to note
the support that Spain and the other Mediterranean members have
given the development of the Northern Dimension. Thus, in the
same way that Finland does, they have recognised interests that
the whole Union shares, irrespective of which direction they
happen to lie in.
One way in which the Northern Dimension differs from the
Barcelona Process, which is separately funded through the MEDA
Programme, is that it requires no new institutions, nor a budget
nor other instruments. What it does call for is more efficient
use of existing resources, better coordination of functions, and
cooperation between international financial institutions and the
private sector. Since the whole idea has been to avoid asking the
Union for additional appropriations, it is all the more important
to make effective use of existing instruments and programmes,
such as TACIS, in implementing the projects that have been given
priority in the Northern Dimension policy. This requires all
parties involved to work together to draft a plan of action. We
know that in this, too, we can count on Spain.
The euro is taking its place alongside the dollar as a leading
international currency. At the same time the EUs position
in the world is coming into sharper focus. With the arrival of
the single currency, the Unions responsibility for solving
crises and problems in the international economy has also
increased. A central precondition for our being able to respond
to this challenge is that our own affairs are in order.
The events of last autumn gave us a concrete demonstration of how
being part of the euro zone protects a small country from the
disturbing effects of world-wide economic crises. It is important
that the measures we adopt in the area of economic policy give a
clear signal of our determination in this matter, especially
during the early days of economic and monetary union.
The European Unions role as an actor in international
politics is strengthening, a trend that will further accelerate
when the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force. However, it is
the general development in our continent, more than anything
else, that is forcing the Union to raise its global profile.
Especially in the prevention and management of crisis, there is a
need for a concerted and strengthening input on the part of the
Union.
There are still many crisis areas in Europe. The violent
disintegration of Yugoslavia is turning into one of the great
tragedies of our century. The international community was not
able to prevent civil war in Bosnia. However, the international
stabilisation operation - SFOR - has given us hope that even
severe crises can eventually be resolved through broadly-based
cooperation. Finland has peacekeeping forces in both Macedonia
and Bosnia.
The crisis in the former Yugoslavia has taken a new and serious
turn as a consequence of events in Kosovo. Unless determined
measures are taken, there is a threat that a new civil war will
erupt in the Balkans. It could have incalculable consequences.
Acts of terror against the civilian population are outraging the
whole world. The Albanian population, who are the majority in
Kosovo, have been activated both politically and militarily. The
Dayton peace process does not extend to creating a solution in
the Kosovo question. The international community is searching
feverishly for peaceable solutions to the worsening crisis. It is
now essential that negotiations for a political solution begin
between Belgrade and the Albanian side in Kosovo, on the basis of
the proposal put forward by the contact group and under the
guidance of the international community. The Kosovars must be
guaranteed extensive autonomy.
Together with the rest of the international community, the
European Union must bear responsibility. But the principal
responsibility lies with those who wield power in the region. We
must be prepared for years of effort. The last strongholds of the
Cold War must be dismantled and peace built also in the Balkans.
For stable democracy to be established in the Western Balkans,
the citizens of those countries need a vista of hope. In this,
the international community has a central role. There must be
agreement on the conditions that will have to obtain before the
countries of the region can know for sure that they are on the
way to becoming full members of the international community.
Within the EU, Finland and Spain have many shared interests to
attend to. Strengthening security and developing prosperity in
both the Baltic and the Mediterranean regions will affect the
positions of our two countries. Despite the geographical distance
between us, we are closer partners as we make the transition to
the third millennium.