SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A
LUNCHEON DURING THE CONFERENCE ON "COEXISTENCE OF NATIONS AND GOOD
NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS - THE GUARANTEE OF SECURITY AND STABILITY IN EUROPE",
VILNIUS, 5 SEPTEMBER, 1997
PROSPECTS FOR A LASTING PEACE
I was delighted to accept the invitation of President Algirdas Brazauskas and President Aleksander Kwasniewski to come here to the historic city of Vilnius. This conference focuses on an important theme: how we can build an enduring common security in our continent.
Upheavals in Europe have thoroughly changed the lives of all of us. It takes more than an instant for us to erase the past from our minds, but we can learn from our history. In his last address to the European Parliament, President François Mitterrand warned of extreme nationalism: "Nationalism is war," was how he summed up the message of his testamentary speech. We want no more wars in Europe. It is time to reach agreement and time to build a lasting peace.
The Baltic Sea is free and again unites people. This is an opportunity that must be availed of. All of the states in the region should initiate cooperation, network, give political and economic geography a chance. That way, prosperity develops, trust grows. Besides, this is not just an opportunity, but also an obligation.
This summer has shown us in a concrete way that the Baltic is vulnerable. The Oder flood catastrophe mainly afflicted Poland and Germany, but the consequences of the floods will be felt in all parts of the sea. Exceptionally strong blooms of blue-green algae in the northern Baltic and the Gulf of Finland is the latest reminder that the Baltic ecology is ailing. The bill for polluting water bodies and dredging rivers has been presented for payment.
For centuries, the security of Europe rested on military factors, and finally on a nuclear deterrent. In an environment of that kind, national disputes and ethnic conflicts were resolved first by force and latterly the chosen solution was to try to cloak them in silence. There are still such conflicts in Europe. The use of force can not offer solutions; at best it can only postpone them. A myopic perception of security in military terms alone has reached the end of its road. Now one must talk, make cooperation everyday security policy.
A growing challenge of our times is that of managing disputes and conflicts in cooperation, increasingly often through common institutions. In addition to that, we must improve our effectiveness at predicting and averting threats to security. The danger of nuclear contamination still looms over Europe. It is essential that this hazard be removed. Dangerous nuclear installations must be repaired, old ones closed and nuclear wastes cleaned up. The TACIS and PHARE programmes as well as other forms of assistance must be developed and harmonised. The financial obligations involved are very great. That calls for an intensification of cooperation, especially between the European Union and the candidate countries join it as well as with Russia and the United States.
Matters like organised crime and drugs are likewise threats to people's security today. We need global cooperation to deal with such risks. I note also that in these matters the EU will intensify its cooperation with the states of Europe.
European integration is forging ahead. The European Union is not being built into a "United States of Europe". Rather than abolishing nationalities, Europe will become the starting point for cooperation between them. The history of the European Union is a history of conciliation and cooperation. The Union's enlargement to include all countries in our continent that accept its treaties and goals and are capable of implementing them will prevent the danger of war also in the future. Enlargement is a process that will take years, but from the perspective of European history it will not be a long time.
So far, Finland is the only European Union member that shares a frontier with Russia. Therefore it is natural for us to be especially interested in the development of relations between the EU and Russia. At the same time, we are developing the Union's northern dimension. This rests on the congruity of EU and Russian interests that exists in the Baltic and Barents seas. Besides that, the latter contains Europe's biggest energy reserves.
On the foundation of the partnership and cooperation agreement that will come into effect between the European Union and Russia in the near future, a free-trade area between the EU and Russia can eventually be created. The EU is already Russia's most important trade partner by a huge margin. Trade between Finland and Russia is now growing at an exceptionally vigorous rate. Our trade with Russia is attaining the scale that is natural from the perspective of cooperation between two neighbouring states and mutually complementary economies. Opening up a democratic and reforming Russia is a central factor in European peace.
The same applies to Ukraine, whose cooperation with the EU is likewise in a dynamic phase. A prospering Ukraine will be one of the supporting pillars of stability in the new Europe.
This summer, the EU Commission published its opinions on all of the countries that have applied for membership. This may well have been the first time that those countries' societies and economies have been evaluated systematically. The picture drawn by the Commission is forthright in places, but in no country's case is it hopeless. Far from it.
All of the opinions will be carefully examined among the member states during the autumn. Every one of the candidate countries should be supported in its efforts to satisfy the preconditions for membership. All must be guaranteed a credible perspective on membership, a programme of reform measures and a timetable. Pre-accession support measures should be aimed at all candidate countries.
A decision to begin accession negotiations will be taken at the EU summit in December 1997. The timing of the candidate countries' accession will depend on how well each of them is equipped to cope with the demands and obligations of membership.
Finland supports the granting of membership to all candidate countries that meet the criteria. We want to encourage the candidate countries to continue their efforts to meet the political and economic criteria. The EU's PHARE programme will be an important instrument for promoting the membership of all candidates for membership.
We Finns know from experience that the negotiations with the fifteen member states of the EU will not be easy. But remember that we representatives of member states on the other side of the table are bound by the EU treaties. For you they are a guarantee that your accession will take place.
This year's important decisions in the sphere of security policy have affected all of us. As the country that hosted the Helsinki Summit in March, Finland is pleased that Russia and NATO reached agreement on cooperation. The Charter on Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO is likewise conducive to the emergence of a new security order founded on cooperation.
The lines to be followed in work to reduce strategic nuclear weapons and ensure the viability of the ABM Treaty were staked out in Helsinki. The danger of nuclear war must be completely eliminated. There is no place for the threat of nuclear weapons in a Europe of conciliation and cooperation. That conventional forces have been reduced is a major achievement for European security. An orientation towards defence and openness must become firmly established in military relations. The security interests of all regions and countries must be respected in negotiations.
I want to emphasise that every country has the right to choose its own security arrangements. That principle was confirmed at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe as long ago as 1975. All must respect the principles and obligations that have been collectively agreed. What is decisive is the development that takes place within states: democracy, civil rights, a free press and social well-being are the distinguishing features of the new Europe. Democracies do not wage war with each other.
Finland is pleased that in Madrid NATO confirmed at the highest level its support for the stability and security of the three Baltic States. NATO and Russia bear great responsibility for ensuring that new instability does not emerge in Europe. Finland is ready to make her contribution to developing the new Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) into an instrument of cooperation. The EAPC must efficiently direct the new-type operations that collective security requires and that the partnership companies jointly undertake. In our view, the EAPC is a suitable forum also for dealing with questions impinging on the security of the Baltic.
Immanuel Kant once outlined a way out of the era of wars and into one of "eternal peace". These are what he wisely and far-sightedly saw as the preconditions for such a peace: a democratic society, intensifying world trade and war becoming impossible as the instruments of warfare developed. We now have these prerequisites for peace in Europe. Let us confidently set our course towards the 21st century.