Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at a banquet for the diplomatic corps on 29.4.2004

My husband and I have the pleasure to welcome you, the distinguished members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Helsinki as well as our Finnish guests, to our traditional banquet on this fine spring evening.

A lot has happened in the past year both here in Finland and around the world. The Finnish government appointed last year has worked in good internal consensus and had excellent cooperation with myself and the Eduskunta. It also has a good approval rating among citizens. All of that is necessary in this rapidly changing world.

The most important event of the year for us Europeans will be the enlargement of the European Union to encompass 25 states and over 450 million citizens. That great event will take place the day after tomorrow.

This enlargement is a historic milestone on a road that has gradually led the peoples of Europe away from the wars and division of the last century. Many challenges still await us on the new road of cooperation.

The work of reforming an enlarged EU remains far from complete. In addition, the ongoing accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania must be brought to completion according to the agreed timetable. Negotiations with other countries that have applied for membership and are ready for it await us further down the road. Our shared goal is a more stable, more secure and more prosperous Europe.

At the same time, however, we must remember that even after enlargement the EU will not be all of Europe and that Europe is not the whole world. Care must be taken to ensure that what the EU is building is a shared Europe and a world of cooperation on a basis of equality and solidarity. Environmental questions have awoken us to an awareness that our planet is literally common to all of us. Hopefully globalisation will bring us together in closer cooperation.

Finland has been regarded as being in many respects a success story in the process of globalisation over recent decades. But also we have had to note, and even in quite recent months, that when we try to guarantee employment, a livelihood and wellbeing for our people, we have to cope with tough global competition.

Globalisation is a lot more than just a technical and economic phenomenon. Its benefits and disadvantages have been shared unevenly and unfairly both within countries and between them. We need a lot, a lot of cooperation. In order to be able to steer globalisation onto a course of greater fairness, so that people’s wishes and needs are taken into consideration better than they have been up to now.

Nation-states are still the most important actors in globalisation. First of all, people’s everyday experience of globalisation depends largely on which country they live in. Work to promote democracy, human rights, the rule of law or social justice benefits people also in globalisation. Secondly, it is the representatives of governments that create what we call global governance. The nation-state has not come to the end of its road, but does face change. We need stronger democratic states which work for justice both within their own borders and in the world.

It is essential to develop the work of the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and many other global organisations and to improve the coherence of their efforts together with the United Nations. Since we also know what a unique status the UN, even with all of its imperfections, has in the maintenance of international peace and security, we must all work to strengthen the prestige and efficiency of the world organisation.

The world, with its threats and opportunities, is present in the everyday lives of people to a greater extent than it used to be. The number of actors involved in international activities has multiplied. That has not meant a reduction of diplomats’ workload. On the contrary, the importance of you competent professionals in international activities has grown.

On behalf of myself and my husband, I thank the diplomatic corps accredited to Helsinki for excellent cooperation. I now propose a toast in your honour and to a strengthening of international cooperation.