President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen's toast at the banquet hosted by Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov, 25.2.2003

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On behalf of myself and my husband as well as the whole Finnish delegation I would like to express our thanks to you for the invitation to make a state visit to Bulgaria. From the first hours of our visit onwards we have found that we have been received by a hospitable people, who feel a special friendship towards Finns. I have always experienced this same when visiting Bulgaria.

The starting point for the good relations between our countries reach back more than a century ago when Finnish guards took part in Bulgaria's battles for liberation. Today we are united by the deepening and expanding integration of our continent, which in the post cold war situation has become a central factor in constructing a Europe that is safer, more prosperous and more just than ever.

At its Copenhagen Summit last December, the European Union made a historic decision on enlargement towards Central and Eastern Europe. A part of that deal was that negotiations with Bulgaria would continue. Our goal is that the Accession Treaty comes into effect in 2007, providing that the conditions set for membership are met.

We have been pleased to note that with regard to Bulgaria the negotiations have advanced at a quickening pace. Although it has been possible to close many negotiation chapters already, there is still a lot of work ahead for Bulgaria, in the negotiations as well as in the renovation of social structures in order to meet the acquis communautaire requirements that are to be adopted.

It has been particularly important to see that the principles of democracy, human rights, and rule of law, the common values in Europe are implemented in the changing world. Good governance requires a great deal of work from us. In this respect those experiences that membership of the Council of Europe during the past decade has provided have been of value for Bulgaria, as they have been for each new member. I still remember when we came in a delegation of the Council of Europe to see whether Bulgaria could become a member of the Council. It was only very recently.

Now Bulgaria is on the way to the European Union. Finland supports Bulgaria's aspirations for membership and we are also prepared to support your efforts in practice. Finland itself had successful accession negotiations ten years ago and our advisors can provide you with useful information about our experiences.

We have the readiness to develop and extend the cooperation that has already started, which for its part serves Bulgaria's accession negotiations. Such areas of cooperation include the development of regional governance and increasing the effectiveness of the boarder control. It is important to strive for a continuous strengthening of the position of different minorities everywhere in Europe. The position of the Roma, our common European minority, is challenging in this respect.

I believe that Bulgaria's participation in the integration of Europe and your future membership of the EU will further strengthen the traditional ties between Finland and Bulgaria and the wide-ranging cooperation in the economic, cultural and tourism sectors. The delegation of businessmen that have accompanied me are an indication of the genuine interest to develop the cooperation. Bulgaria's entry into the European Union will strengthen and enrich our community, which we Finns will greet with great pleasure.

Allow me to propose a toast to the health of you and Madam Purvanova, to the success of the Bulgarian people and to the friendship of the Finnish and Bulgarian peoples.