Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at a banquet in honour of the state visit of the Governor General of Canada on 6.10.2003

It gives me pleasure to bid you, on behalf of all Finns, a warm welcome to Finland, the European Union’s northernmost member state.

Finland and Canada have many things in common, despite the difference in size between our countries and the great distance that separates them: natural conditions, geography, and politics. Bleak northern conditions and forces of nature are an essential part of our everyday life. We share the same fundamental values: a belief in people’s equal rights, democracy and the rule of law. Both peoples have developed a high level of education and culture in two languages. Both are accustomed to living as a neighbour of a great power. Finland and Canada believe in organised international cooperation and act in accordance with that belief.

Finland and Canada are in the vanguard of modern social development. Both are seeking solutions to new kinds of problems, the challenges of the post-industrial society. The World Economic Forum and many other institutions publish statistics and international comparisons. Time after time, these comparisons reveal how Canada and Finland are neck-and-neck among the world’s leading countries, whether the comparison relates to the conditions of people’s lives, the standard of education, competitiveness, the degree of development of the information society, the rarity of corruption or ecologically sustainable development. The problems facing a globalising society range from advanced technology to sensitive and difficult ethical questions. Some of them are acute today, others relate to the society in which our children and grandchilden will live. In pondering these things, Canada and Finland could have a lot to learn from one another.

Quite some time has gone by since the last state visit, which my esteemed predecessor President Mauno Koivisto made to Canada in October 1990. In the meantime, the positions of Europe and Finland have decisively changed. Finland has been member of the European Union now for eight years. This has proved over to be an excellent solution to our everyday problems in a globalising world. The changeover to the euro has likewise gone smoothly and it has gained the approval of the great majority of Finns. The common currency has brought economic stability to all of the countries in the Euro Zone, including Finland, increased predictability and facilitated trade. The ongoing multi-step process of EU enlargement is historic. It offers a unique opportunity to expand the region of prosperity, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

The end of the Cold War was felt especially strongly in Finland’s immediate vicinity. For half a century the Baltic had separated the countries of the region from each other and suddenly it again became a bridge that united them. When Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland accede to EU membership at the beginning of next May, the Baltic will be practically surrounded by European Union countries. The new Russia has become an important cooperation partner for the EU and the change in the Baltic Sea region will give the relationship of cooperation between the Union and Russia a more concrete form. This is one of the reasons why Finland has been active in seeking to strengthen the European Union’s Northern Dimension policy.

For Finland membership of the European Union also meant a decision on security policy, aligning ourselves with the group of countries that has always been closest to us. We take care of our military defence independently, at the same time as we play an active role in international crisis management in operations led both by the UN and NATO. Today, Finland has more personnel taking part in these operations than any other EU country relative to population.

As an individual country, we do not feel our security is threatened more than that of other European states. Together with all of the other countries in the world we share the same global threats: pollution, poverty, organised crime as well as terrorism and regional conflicts. Finland and Canada are cooperating well at the UN and in other international organisations to eliminate these threats and improve global security. Our two countries worked actively to have the International Criminal Court established and achieve the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse gases. For this historic climate agreement to enter into force as soon as possible, it is important that the countries which have hesitated so far ratify it as soon as possible. Since the Suez crisis in 1956 Finnish and Canadian soldiers have grown accustomed to standing side-by-side keeping the peace in various parts of the world.

A strengthening of a transatlantic sense of community even in changing circumstances is something that Finland has always considered to be of central importance for European stability. Although Finland is not a member of NATO, we have very close cooperation with the alliance.

We are actively participating in the development of transatlantic cooperation through the European Union as well. Last December’s summit between the EU and Canada in Ottawa yielded a decision to commence negotiations for a new-generation agreement to promote trade and investment. Finland supports its goals of harmonising the regulations on investment and trade and improving their transparency.

Your Excellency, this time the destination for your and your accompanying party’s visit is the northernmost part of Europe. Of all of the people who live north of the 60th parallel, over 40 per cent are Finns. In Lapland you will also meet representatives of our seven and a half thousand-strong national minority the Sámi, who have close ties of cooperation to indigenous peoples in Canada’s northern regions. The Sámi representatives certainly have a fresh mandate for their discussions with you, because last week the Sámi people of Finland voted to choose the new members of their representative assembly, which is called the Saami Parliament in Finland.

International Arctic cooperation is an important part of Finland’s foreign policy, as is development of the European Union’s Northern Dimension. Finland and Canada are charter members of the Arctic Council and we greatly appreciate the Canadians’ active input to its work. Our countries’ goals are largely similar and here too numerous opportunities for cooperation between us present themselves.

Madam Governor General and Mr. Saul, allow me to propose a toast to your health, the success of the Canadian people and a strengthening of friendship between Finland and Canada.