Translation

SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MARTTI AHTISAARI AT A BANQUET
IN HONOUR OF PRESIDENT EMIL CONSTANTINESCU OF ROMANIA
AND MRS. NADIA CONSTANTINESCU
IN HELSINKI ON 27.10.1998

It is a pleasure for me to bid you, Mr. President, your spouse and your party welcome to Finland. My wife and I find it especially pleasing that we have been able to receive guests that are true friends of Finland. We know that this is not your first visit to Finland and that you and Mrs. Constantinescu are interested in Finnish culture. Our national epic the Kalevala, the 150^th anniversary of which will be celebrated also in Romania next year, is well known to you.

You are paying us a visit at a time when European integration is moving ahead at a good pace. It gives us satisfaction to see that Romania is a full participant in the European Union enlargement process launched last spring. During the autumn, your country and the European Commission will be going through several questions that are of central importance from the perspective of the accession process. Finland, in turn, has begun preparing for her first Presidency of the European Union in the latter half of next year.

These themes are constantly on the agenda for discussions between our countries, so I shall content myself here with briefly noting that Finland staunchly supports EU enlargement. Europe now has a unique opportunity: we can intensify and broaden cooperation and at the same time speed up development in countries that do not yet belong to the EU. Something that makes the enlargement process especially challenging is the internal work of reform that is going on parallel to it in the European Union as well as the fact that the number of candidate countries is greater than ever in the past. It is an onerous process and one that demands a lot of both the Union and all countries seeking membership. I am, nevertheless, convinced that the final result will reward the effort.

We in Finland admire Romania for her reform policy and determined progress towards the commencement of pre-accession negotiations. We support your country in this endeavour. As I have said earlier, we will be delighted to share with Romania our experience of our own pre-accession negotiations, which are still fresh in our memory.

We have been following with great satisfaction the positive development that has been taking place in many sectors in Romania in recent years. What has especially impressed us is your country’s conscious effort to play a stabilising role in your immediate region. This has begun with determined development of good-neighbourly relations - especially with Hungary and Ukraine - and the signing of treaties copperfastening these relations. The status of the Hungarian minority in Romania has improved considerably and the fact that this segment of the population is represented in the national government has added momentum to development in a completely new way. Romania has likewise developed forms of cooperation with the countries of the region, for example in the field of peacekeeping. As a country that has traditionally contributed to peacekeeping operations, Finland appreciates Romania’s active participation in crisis management.

Romania is an active participant in the work of the Black Sea Cooperation Organisation and is striving to develop transport channels both in her immediate region and through an integrating Europe. Both projects are an important part of the development of European transport and energy networks. Finland, too, has an interest in regional cooperation and is working actively in her own region, for example in the Council of Baltic Sea States. Although we are not quite neighbours, I believe we can find forms of cooperation that will benefit all parties.

Next I want to turn my attention to the development of our countries’ bilateral relations.

Bilateral relations between Finland and Romania have always been without problems, but they have become much more active especially during your term as President. One way of gauging the liveliness of relations is to examine the frequency of high-level visits. These have increased considerably. For example Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen and Europe Minister Ole Norrback visited your country last year. The Speaker of the Romanian Senate Petre Roman was in Finland this summer. Your visit, Mr. President, crowns the all-round positive development that has taken place between Finland and Romania in recent years.

Although some Finnish companies have even historically long experience of cooperation with Romania, it must be noted that the volume of this cooperation and trade between our countries has been quite modest. Nevertheless, a positive development can be observed, especially this year. Many large Finnish companies have found or are finding Romania. Small and medium enterprises have likewise achieved positive results there. Finland, in turn, urges Romanian companies to be more active in our open market. The economic part of your visit is comprehensive. I hope that the Finnish-Romanian corporate symposium arranged for tomorrow will achieve plenty of concrete results.

We in Finland are very aware of Romania’s efforts as she struggles with the severe difficulties of a transitional economy. You have our support and sympathy. We have just amended the treaty between our countries covering relations on the honorary-consul level. The opportunity that this provides to create a network of honorary consulates will certainly contribute to promoting relations between our countries in the commercial sphere.

I absolutely must mention cultural relations between us. A lot has happened in the cultural sector in recent times. In the past few years Romania has been welcoming the output of Finnish contemporary artists with open arms. The film director Aki Kaurismäki has been especially popular. Also known in Romania is the writer and actress Anna-Leena Härkönen, who has visited your country; indeed, the first part of a series written by her was screened on Romanian state television yesterday evening. One of the main events on the programme of this year’s Helsinki Festival was an exhibition of valuable works, on loan from museums in your country, by the world-famous Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi.

Our bilateral relations in the economic and cultural sectors are likewise developing positively. Through them, direct contacts between our citizens are becoming livelier.

Mr. President,
Mrs. Constantinescu,

My view is that Finland and Romania are quite obviously now finding each other within a framework of all-round international cooperation, especially on the European level.

Now I would like to propose a toast to your health and to good fortune and success in cooperation between our countries.