Lecture by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the University of Latvia on 9.5.2001

An enlarging European Union and northern cooperation

(Check against delivery)




It is a great pleasure and honour to speak to you here on Europe Day. This is an ideal time to ponder the future and the role that we peoples of the North will play in it. After all, our entire continent has been undergoing pretty turbulent change ever since the end of the Cold War. Our shared goal has been a world founded on respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law, one in which people also enjoy economic wellbeing.

The addition of new members to the Council of Europe, the European Union and NATO has its own part in this European development. Indeed, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your performance during your first term in the Presidency of the Council of Europe. Although the main attention in the near future will certainly be on the EU and NATO enlargements, it is important to remember that the Council of Europe and the OSCE are likewise influencing the development of our continent. There are many reasons why constant attention should be given to developing cooperation and a possible division of labour.

The amendments to the Founding Treaty that are essential a priori conditions for enlargement were decided at the European Union summit in Nice. It was also agreed that a new Intergovernmental Conference would take place in 2004. That conference will not deal with enlargement, focusing instead on building our common future. According to the declaration on the future of the Union formulated in Nice, the process should address, inter alia, questions relating to the delimitation of powers, the status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, simplification of the treaties and the role of national parliaments in the European architecture. The democratic legitimacy and transparency of the institutions is defined as the unifying theme in the discourse on the future.

A wider-ranging discussion of this kind is now called for. The EU has seen a rapid succession of structural changes in recent years. Details of decision making and relations between institutions have been in the foreground. Contents-related issues that interest and affect citizens more directly have received less attention.

In my view, the special attention in the discourse must now be turned to the content of the EU's actions. It is the content that defines the form, not the other way round. All of us - both in the present member states and applicant countries - must reflect on what we want from the EU; what it should do and what it should leave alone. We must also give a lot of thought to what matters we want looked after on the community level and which ones are best left to intergovernmental cooperation.

Preparations for the Intergovernmental Conference in 2004 must enjoy the trust of citizens. They must be based on an open and broadly-based civic discourse in both the member states and the candidate countries. I believe that the preparations for the conference could perhaps be made by some kind of committee, a convention composed of representatives of governments, national parliaments and EU institutions. Its sessions must be open and civil society must be heard in conjunction with them. The candidate countries must be involved in this process.

In the final analysis, responsibility for the future agreement rests with the governments of the member states and with the parliaments that will have to ratify the agreement that the governments conclude.

The intention with this work in relation to the future is not to postpone enlargement of the European Union nor to place obstacles in its path. Enlargement is a process that is both increasing the prosperity of Europeans and enhancing the stability and security of our continent. Since the Nice summit, the implementation of enlargement has been more in the hands of the candidate countries than it was before.

The accession negotiations have been proceeding at a good tempo so far. The candidate countries are working hard to meet the criteria for accession. The member states and the Union can help in this work, but the candidate countries have to fulfil the political, economic and legislation-related criteria. This is a principle that must continue to be insisted on. No favour can be shown; all must be treated with strict impartiality in the negotiations.

As we all know, the accession negotiations are not about changing EU rules; on the contrary, they are about candidate countries accepting these rules. The situation changes only with membership. Then you will participate in amending the Founding Treaties of the EU and you will have a say in the process of accepting new members in the future.

I have been very pleased with the speed at which Latvia's accession negotiations have been progressing and the good results achieved. So far, twentyfour (24) chapters have been opened with Latvia and eleven have been conditionally closed. The intention is that several difficult chapters concerning such matters as free mobility of people and capital, services and taxation will be dealt with during the Swedish Presidency. If the negotiation process proceeds as planned, all of the chapters will have been opened with Latvia by the time the Swedish Presidency ends. We can all be satisfied with Sweden's active efforts to promote enlargement.

However, being ready for membership of the European Union means more than just closing negotiation chapters; commitments that have been made must also be implemented in practice. Latvia, too, still has work to do to make implementation of EU legislation more effective. In particular there is a need to improve administrators' ability to apply EU regulations. There is already close cooperation between Finnish and Latvian authorities and Finland is willing to continue supporting Latvia in her efforts to fulfil the criteria for EU membership.

The support of public opinion is a vital precondition for the success of the enlargement process. It is the entire country and its citizens that join the Union, not just the government or a small elite. It is our common task to ensure that public opinion in both the candidate countries and the existing members keeps up with developments. This will succeed only through open and constructive dialogue. The goal is to find common solutions to common problems.

We have good prospects of being able to keep to the goals and timetables that were set for enlargement at the Helsinki and Nice summits. Finland will support the Swedish and future EU presidencies in their efforts to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion. I personally hope that as many applicants as possible, Latvia among them, will be able to join by 2005 at the latest; in other words, before the next Commission is appointed.



With enlargement, the Baltic Sea will become to all intents and purposes an inland sea of the EU. Cooperation in the Baltic Sea region is just as natural a part of the EU's work as, for example, cooperation in the Mediterranean region. And in the same way as we consider it natural to participate in cooperation in the Mediterranean region, it is to be hoped that all EU members will take part in cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. Nor is cooperation open to EU members only.

The European Union's Northern Dimension policy provides ideal opportunities to promote both cooperation embracing the whole of the Baltic Sea region and prosperity. The first ministerial conference on the Northern Dimension during the Finnish Presidency created a common foundation for cooperation between the EU and its partner countries. A second meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg a few weeks ago demonstrated that the cooperation process has firmly established itself as an aspect of the EU's external relations.

The planned Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership would benefit all to whom a living and clean Baltic Sea is precious. The new partnership would complement the programmes that are linked to EU enlargement. This is especially important from the perspective of Latvia and the other candidate countries in their efforts to promote implementation of the EU's environmental acquis. The steps forward that have been achieved in cooperation between the EU and international financial institutions are a very positive matter with environmental cooperation in mind.

Within the framework of the Northern Dimension, the conditions for cross-border cooperation between the member states and Russia have been improved. Now would be the time to pay corresponding attention to cooperation between border regions in candidate countries and their eastern neighbours. This should be done through better implementation of the Phare and Tacis programmes. I am glad that Latvia has been actively highlighting a need for cooperation with the Pskov region, the Leningrad region and Novgorod.

A Commission report has provided the correct channel for the dialogue associated with Kaliningrad. The EU and Russia will continue their cooperation in relation to Kaliningrad within the framework of their Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The Northern Dimension and the Council of Baltic Sea States provide an opportunity for the other countries of the region to participate in cooperation which has a bearing on the development of Kaliningrad and enhances stability. The arrangements made for transit traffic to and from Kaliningrad as well as the decisions reached in relation to visas and cross-border crime will be reflected positively throughout the Baltic Sea region.

The information society has been made a new priority in the Northern Dimension. Latvia has been very active in this sector. It is great that next September your country will be hosting the Baltic Sea region's first ministerial-level meeting to discuss the information society and communications technology. Representatives of companies in the sector and of the Commission have been invited. The Northern e-Dimension has the aim of complementing the European Union's e-Europe programmes from a regional perspective. The goal is to promote effective use of the region's competences and human resources as well as to narrow existing digital gaps.

Finland and Latvia have been devoting special attention to energy questions within the framework of the Northern Dimension. Cooperation in the field of energy in the Baltic Sea region has been regaining liveliness thanks to, among other things, the energy conference to take place in Stockholm next month. Matters relating to cooperation in the field of energy came prominently up also during my state visit to Poland a couple of weeks ago.

For nearly half a century, Nordic cooperation has been seen by Finland as an important form of international cooperation and it has given us a group with which to identify. Nordic cooperation acquired a new dimension and momentum when Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania regained their independence. Even before that, in February 1990, the Nordic Council had for the first time invited members of the Baltic parliaments to attend one of its sessions. The parliamentarians accepted and took part.

Significant results have been achieved in Nordic cooperation without large-scale bureaucracy or supranationality. For example, the Nordic passport union and a common labour market were operating a long time before the European Union. The Nordic countries have for years been cooperating closely in international crisis management, even though some are not members of NATO or the EU. The Baltic States have in recent years been active participants in Nordic crisis-management cooperation.

The Baltic States have followed the Nordic model in creating cooperative bodies like the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Baltic Assembly. This has facilitated both their mutual cooperation and contacts with Nordic cooperative bodies. Contacts between parliamentarians have been close. The annual sessions of the Council are attended regularly. The Nordic Council and its Baltic counterpart will be meeting here in Riga later this month.

Ministerial-level contacts between the Nordic countries and the Baltic States are growing. Both the Nordic foreign ministers and the prime ministers have begun talking of eight-country cooperation rather than five plus three. This emphasises the equal footing on which all participate.

More of these eight-country ministerial meetings are being arranged during the Finnish Presidency of the Nordic Council in 2001: in addition to gatherings of prime, foreign and cooperation ministers, the intention is also to arrange meetings of the ministers responsible for transport and communications, energy and labour. In line with the recommendations of a panel appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers, a changeover has already been made to cooperation that is more practical in character, the so-called Norden+ model. This has made it possible for traditional Nordic cooperation to be expanded to include the Baltic States in several different sub-sectors. As part of the same process, former "observers" have become active and equal cooperation partners.

A point worth mentioning in this context is that for example in the World Bank the Nordic countries and the Baltic States form one multi-country constituency for electoral purposes. Positions rotate according to an agreed system.

Since 1996 the Nordic countries have supported Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in their preparations for EU membership, as part of the efforts to promote cooperation with their adjacent regions. The importance of regional cooperation can be expected to increase in an enlarged EU. Coalitions will form on both a geographical basis and around specific categories of issues. Our "Northern" reference group will acquire more weight, making it easier to pursue our shared regional interests and other common goals.

I see the prospects for the future of the Baltic Sea region as bright. Broadening and deepening cooperation will enhance the stability of the region and increase its citizens' prosperity. That is in no way an obstacle to more broadly-based cooperative organisations, but rather a natural way of strengthening them. I wish Latvia success in her efforts to become a participant in every sector of international activity.