Lecture by President of the Republic at the University of Akureyri, Iceland on 21.9.2000

COOPERATION IN THE ARCTIC REGION (check against delivery)

Det är en stor glädje för mig att få besöka Akureyri - denna nordisländska stad, som blivit alltmera känd, som ett kunskapscenter i arktiska och andra nordliga samarbetsfrågor. En särskild källa till glädje är att Akureyri förstärkt sin ställning som kreativ miljö i nära samarbete med vår egen motsvarighet - det arktiska centret vid Lapplands universitet i Rovaniemi.

President Òlafur Ragnar Grímsson har personligen skapat grunden för samarbetet mellan Akureyri och Rovaniemi genom att lansera konceptet Northern Research Forum i sitt tal vid Lapplands universitet år 1998. Han såg sitt initiativ som ett komplettering till det finska initiativet om att etablera ett arktiskt nätverksuniversitet för högre utbildning, som avser utnyttja de möjligheter modern informationsteknologi ger. Denna helhet skapar en god grund för ett fortsatt nära samarbete mellan våra arktiska centra, Akureyri och Rovaniemi.

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Our world is changing at an accelerating pace. We talk of globalisation, in which companies that engage in international trade have been the driving force. Globalisation is, however, a much broader matter than trade; the world-wide cooperation networks that non-governmental organisations maintain are good examples of this.

Globalisation was a central theme at the UN Millennium Summit. As a truly global organisation, the UN is an exceptionally suitable forum for discussing this matter. Indeed, the UN is especially important to us Nordics. One clear reflection of this is that Iceland is seeking to have a seat on the Security Council for the first time in 2009-10.

At the same time as the world-wide changes that have been taking place, our shared continent Europe has undergone a radical transformation and that process is still continuing. Also in this work, Iceland and Finland have their own roles. In Finland´s case, holding the EU Presidency for the latter half of last year was a historic milestone. One of the outstanding examples of Iceland´s activity was her excellent handling of the Council of Europe Presidency the same year.

In addition to what we are doing in the global and European contexts, we are also deeply involved in cooperation here in the Nordic region. As we know, the eastern and western parts of the region have been united by a shared need to turn some of the attention in Nordic cooperation onto so-called peripheral areas and working together with third countries. A completely new setting for cooperation in the Baltic Sea and Barents Sea regions emerged when the communist system of society crumbled. Finland and Iceland resolutely grasped the opportunities that the changed situation offered. Iceland did not hesitate to give us in the east of the Nordic region her support in exploiting the new opportunities. Her pioneering role in the reinstitution of the Baltic States´ independence will live on in the memory of those small nations for a long time to come.

One of the aims of Icelandic representatives this year has been to draw the attention of the other Nordic countries to a growing need for closer cooperation between the countries and regions of the North Atlantic, especially to protect the marine environment. The need for closer cooperation is linked to Iceland´s key national interests. It is one of the matters being deliberated by the panel of experts sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers and chaired by President and CEO Jón Sigurdsson of the Nordic Investment Bank.

Without wishing to predict the panel´s recommendations, I want nevertheless to emphasise that Finland actively supports Iceland in her efforts to strengthen North Atlantic cooperation, also within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers. In just the same way as Iceland is giving us in the east her support as we respond to the challenges facing us, we want to support her in dealing with Atlantic challenges.

This reciprocity is not just based on the loyalty that Nordic cooperation presupposes. The challenges in question - irrespective of the direction from which they emanate - are closely interlinked through their global and pan-European influences.

The Finnish initiative to develop a Northern Dimension in EU policy emerged from a comprehensive examination of northern matters. We identified a need to work closely with the other countries of the region in order to strengthen and add effectiveness to the Union´s actions in relation to the North.

Iceland and Norway immediately recognised the strategic significance of the Finnish initiative and the opportunities that it would provide to develop cooperation with the Union in northern questions. I remember my former colleague Halldór Ásgrimsson expressing his satisfaction when the often-introverted Union took the step of inviting its partners to take part in cooperation.

As the then holder of the Presidency of the Nordic Council, Iceland played a big part in preparations, for the conference of foreign ministers to discuss the Northern Dimension. That applies especially to matters connected with the environment. The conference created a common foundation for cooperation between the EU and its partners. Sustainable development was chosen as the starting point for the Northern Dimension and protecting the marine environment as a central priority.

Finland, as the holder of the Presidency, presented her conclusions, which the conference endorsed. Then the EU drafted its Northern Dimension programme, which was adopted by the European Council meeting in Feira, Portugal. While the drafting was in progress the Commission regularly consulted its partner countries, including Iceland, whose contribution was very positively received.

With the programme the EU has for the first time adopted a comprehensive and detailed position on the non-military challenges facing northern Europe. During the drafting of the programme, the member states and the Commission took the whole of northern Europe under analysis and together set the main goals and decided on the measures that would be needed to realise them over the next few years.

The environmental goals included in the Northern Dimension are important to Finland and Iceland. They focus attention on reducing pollution-related threats to health and the environment in the Baltic and Barents seas, climate change and preserving biological diversity. The principal means is sustainable use of natural resources.

In the protection of the marine environment the Northern Dimension, as conceived by the EU, extends in a west-east direction from Iceland to north-west Russia and north-south from the Norwegian, Barents and Kara seas to the southern shore of the Baltic.

In this connection, however, we must bear in mind the concept of the Northern Dimension´s "Arctic Window". This emerged from a Greenland initiative. If realised, it would give Greenland a channel for dialogue with the European Commission and also open the way for dealing more comprehensively with issues relating to northern seas. During his visit to Greenland this summer, President of the Commission Romano Prodi expressed a very positive view of the initiative.

Iceland has underlined the importance of transatlantic cooperation within the Northern Dimension framework. During the Finnish Presidency, cooperation in the North was adopted as a new totality of items on the agendas for cooperation both between the Union and the USA and between the Union and Canada.

This summer all three transatlantic partners completed their homework. With the decisions reached in Feira the Union is in a position to deepen its cooperation with the USA and Canada. The Union is hoping for synergy benefits in, especially, cooperation in the fields of energy, the environment, nuclear safety and health as well as in generally promoting sustainable development. In the same conjunction, the Union is also taking note of the concerns of indigenous peoples.

The Canadian Government decided its policy on the Northern Dimension in June. In the beginning of August word came from Washington that President Clinton had signed the Cross-Border Cooperation and Environmental Safety in Northern Europe Act. Thus we are now living in an opportune time to deepen transatlantic cooperation in northern questions.

In a month´s time the United States will hand over the Presidency of the Arctic Council to Finland at a conference of ministers in Barrow in the far north of Alaska. For Finland taking charge of the Arctic Council is a logical next step in promoting the EU´s Northern Dimension.

One of our first tasks in the Presidency will be to get cooperation between the Arctic Council and the European Union up and running. The Northern Dimension programme makes prospects for success in this respect very good.

Cooperation should begin already at the conference of ministers in Barrow. The dramatic news reports that reached us this summer have shown how important Arctic questions are also from the perspective of the European Union. Open water at the North Pole has in an unsurpassedly visual way reminded us of the worst scenarios of climate change. A climate change report produced by the World Wide Fund for Nature has revealed what dramatic changes could take place in the natural environments in both Iceland and Finland.

The most radical changes in Finland will have a particular effect on northern areas, i.e. Lapland. If the WWF forecasts come true, Finland will have lost most of her Arctic habitats in a century from now. By then, as much as two-thirds of the country´s total area would belong in a different vegetation zone from today.

Finland could get a Danish climate, Iceland a Scottish one. However, forecasts involve a lot of uncertainty. One big question is how global warming will affect the North Atlantic drift, which has such a crucial influence on climatic conditions in the Nordic countries.

On an American initiative, an important climate change research project is getting under way within the framework of the Arctic Council. The Finnish scientific community has given the project an enthusiastic welcome and we are well equipped to contribute to the demanding work that it will involve. Arctic habitats and threats to them are being systematically monitored. This is being done by many teams of experts, including the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment working group based here in Akureyri. However, the work will remain half-done unless scientific reports are translated into appropriate political decisions. The Arctic Council will certainly not lack for work when it comes to promoting operative measures.

A lot of expectations are being focused on the Finnish Presidency of the Arctic Council. At its recent session in Rovaniemi, the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region expressed a desire to see the Arctic Council become a stronger international actor. So far, the Council has not been able to act as an international mouthpiece for the circumpolar region. It would be very important to bring Arctic issues into the spotlight in global cooperation to promote sustainable development. The UN Rio + 10 in 2002 will provide an ideal opportunity for this.

Representatives of Arctic regions emphasise that Arctic cooperation can not succeed without their active contribution. Finland, too, considers this important. Already now, representatives of indigenous peoples are sitting around the same table as representatives of governments. This is unique in international cooperation. Regional administrations must also be gotten involved in the implementation of projects. An existing network of Arctic regions, the Northern Forum, may become a more important cooperation partner for the Council.

A theme that has so far not been deliberated at the Arctic Council is gender equality. The time is now ripe to do so, availing of the work that has already been done by networks of women belonging to indigenous peoples. I hope we will also be able to make use of the experience that we gained from the equality conference in Reykjavik last year and from the follow-up work that it set in train.


The Arctic Council is getting over its teething troubles. A fundamental prerequisite for the success of our Presidency is close collaboration with all member states and the permanent representatives of indigenous peoples. Achieving this will be Finland´s aim.

Aside from holding the helm of the Arctic Council, Finland also assumes the Presidency of the Nordic Council at the beginning of next year. This will give us a unique opportunity to promote Arctic and other northern cooperation through two channels.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is revising its strategy on adjacent areas to take account of the EU´s growing importance in northern cooperation. With EU enlargement, the classic Nordic quintet is in many contexts becoming a Nordic-Baltic octet.

What unites this octet is a need to promote cooperation between the EU and the countries of the region and Russia. A growing positive interdependence promotes stability and security in our part of the world. Cooperation with north-west Russia deserves growing attention also in the work that the Nordic Council of Ministers is doing in relation to adjacent regions.

We must strengthen the Arctic component in the work of the Council of Ministers. Finland is prepared to get a revision of the Council´s outdated Arctic strategy under way.

I have said a great deal about the northern cooperation being done under the auspices of various organisations. But direct contacts on people´s own initiative are at least as important. A major factor in cooperation and cultural exchange between our peoples have been the North Calotte conferences and the work done under the auspices of the Pohjola-Norden organisation.

Thanks to the North Calotte conferences and Pohjola-Norden´s language courses, hundreds of Finns and Icelanders have established new ties of culture and friendship. This has added new depth to mutual understanding and increased our respect for one another.

Mutual respect characterises all cooperation between Finland and Iceland. We both live in the periphery of the North, you in the west, we in the east. This fact unites us more than it separates us.