ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI
AT THE COMPLUTENSIAN UNIVERSITY OF MADRID, 2 FEBRUARY 1999

Finland on the European Political Scene

et me begin by thanking the Rector and the Complutensian University for their kind invitation. I consider it a great honour to be the first Finnish head of state to be accorded the privilege of speaking at this prestigious seat of learning.

The history of Finland in the century now drawing to a close has been closely linked with great changes in Europe. A hundred years ago, my country was a grand duchy within the Russian Empire. Then in 1917, amid the turmoil of the First World War, Finland joined the family of independent nations.

In the late 1930s, when the Third Reich and the Soviet Union haggled over their respective spheres of interest, Finland’s role in the bargain they struck was that of small change. But we defended ourselves against aggression in 1939-44 and preserved our independence.

During the Cold War era, we avoided involvement in disputes between great powers and pursued a policy of neutrality. It was not a matter of evading our international responsibility, but rather of constructive participation, on a basis of reality, in activities that could lead to concrete results. Thus Finland has been contributing to UN peacekeeping operations since the Suez Crisis in 1957 and has been active in the work of international organisations.

Finland played a central role in the so-called Helsinki Process, which led to the historic summit in summer 1975 at which the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe was signed. This was a considerable contributory factor in the process that led to the Cold War being ended and consigned confrontation between Eastern and Western Europe to history. The Madrid review conference in the beginning of the 1980s was a decisive turning point in this respect. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe now plays a central role in preventing conflicts and promoting a dialogue on security in Europe, both within and between states.

The ending of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union utterly changed Finland’s security environment, and we joined the European Union in 1995. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have regained their independence and are making rapid progress towards membership of the Union.

Next I should like to review, briefly, the history of relations between Finland and Spain.

The first diplomatic link between Finland and Spain was a rather tenuous one. It came about in 1896, when the Government of Spain appointed the prominent intellectual and author Angel Ganivet as its consul in Helsinki, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland. His experiences there inspired him to write his classic "Cartas finlandesas". In those days, naturally, the consulate at which Ganivet served was administratively subordinate to the Spanish Embassy in St. Petersburg.

Direct diplomatic relations between us were established in September 1918. In January of the same year, Spain had been one of the very first countries in the world to recognise our independence.

In the period between the world wars, contacts between Finland and Spain mostly had to do with trade. Political relations between us were correct, albeit distant. The Finns followed the Spanish Civil War with a sense of shock and upset.

After the Second World War, official relations between us were upgraded to ambassadorial level in 1957. Ties between us have been broadening ever since. Trade has flourished and Finnish industry began establishing in Spain as early as the 60s. Finnish tourists "discovered" Spain in the same decade and your country has become their most popular destination in southern Europe.

Relations between Finland and Spain moved onto the highest plane in 1975 when His Majesty King Juan Carlos, then the Crown Prince, paid us an official visit. My predecessors Urho Kekkonen and Mauno Koivisto both visited Spain and His Majesty King Juan Carlos came to Finland for the second time in 1989. Visits on the prime ministerial and ministerial levels have been exchanged with increasing frequency. Economic and cultural interaction between our countries has likewise been gaining in intensity.

Finland’s accession to membership of the European Union in January 1995 has naturally increased cooperation between our countries quite substantially. When we add to that our very active involvement in the work of international organisations, we can nowadays ask whether any areas at all still remain outside the scope of Fenno-Spanish cooperation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my many Spanish colleagues for excellent cooperation during my international career.

Both Finland and Spain live on the borders of Europe, one on the northern, the other on the southern. From the perspectives of both, the cultural and political Europe is easier to conceive of as a continent of diversity. In my view, our European identities - which formed the starting points on which the creation of the EU was based - can encounter each other in a strong spirit of understanding.

Finland’s European identity has a Nordic accent for which we can thank both our geographical location and our history,

Our society is founded on consent and agreement. Citizens participate extensively in decision-making on matters with a bearing on themselves. As a nation we are united also as a community of values. We have the wealth of our country’s two languages, Finnish and Swedish. Municipal self-government is founded on an old Nordic tradition. The percentage of Finnish women who work outside the home is one of the highest in the world and this has had the effect of increasing real gender equality. Women are strongly represented in Parliament and the Government. Legislation is based on a functioning system of pluralistic democracy. The transition to the EU era has proceeded on a broad front right across our society. We are now taking the first steps in changing over to the euro.

It has been understood that industrial innovation is a key factor in success. Therefore our industrial sector has been encouraged to put resources into research and development and our social policy is designed to give it every support in this respect. Our consensual society is acquiring an additional feature, as a result of which we are entitled to talk also of an information society. The revolution in information technology has transformed our country into one that is highly networked and very open to the rest of the world through its external links. For a small country like Finland, the Union as a single market area offers a great relative advantage when it comes to commercialising innovations on a production scale.

The Barcelona Process has added a new southern dimension to Finnish foreign policy. We have adjusted well to the Mediterranean configuration. Promoting stability on the European Union’s southern flank lies in the interest of Finland and of every other member state.

Stability can be promoted by expanding economic cooperation and integration. Within the Euro-Mediterranean process, the creation of a Euro-Med free trade area by the year 2010 is a central and challenging goal. Considerable progress has been made in the negotiations for a Mediterranean stabilisation agreement. Finland has given her active support to the EU’s Mediterranean members in their efforts to promote stability, economic development and secure borders in the south. The entire Union will benefit from success in these endeavours. We have also been devoting a lot of attention and effort to environmental cooperation in the Mediterranean and a ministerial conference on this theme took place in Helsinki in summer 1997.

The accession of Finland and Sweden thoroughly changed the situation at the northern end of the EU. For one thing, the Union now has a common border 1,300 kilometres long with Russia. Future rounds of enlargement will make the Baltic to all intents and purposes the Union’s first inland sea, but above all the importance of Russia as a next-door neighbour will increase even further.

Russia’s importance to the Union easily tends to be underestimated. From the perspective of trade statistics, Russia is a fairly modest partner for most member states. When one examines the matter from the other direction, however, a different picture emerges: about 40 per cent of Russia’s foreign trade is with the Union. In the energy sector and especially as a natural gas producer, Russia is of strategic importance from the Union’s perspective. With the Union’s own gas resources being gradually depleted and yet demand growing, Russia’s strategic importance in the energy sector is steadily increasing. Although the EU’s Mediterranean members attach great importance to North Africa and the Caspian Sea region as suppliers of oil and gas, it lies also in their interests to try to broaden their range of sources. Thus we all have a stake in safeguarding the Union’s energy-related interests both south and north.

A self-isolating or isolated Russia would gain in significance - in a negative sense- from the Union’s point of view. One of the most central goals in the common EU strategy on Russia now under development must be to link that country more closely into the process of European integration.

The need for cooperation between the Union and Russia is even more obvious in the regions along their common border. An indication of today’s problematic situation is the gap between standards of living on either side of the Fenno-Russian border. Wage differences are one example of the depth of the gulf: since the value of the rouble slumped, Finnish teachers and nurses receive 50 times as much as their Russian counterparts. Although it is Russia that bears primary responsibility for her own situation, the Union can try to promote a more favourable development by broadening cooperation.

The aim of the Northern Dimension policy is to define the European Union’s common interests in the Baltic and Barents Sea regions. The Union’s strategy on Russia and its Northern Dimension complement each other. It has been gratifying to note the support that Spain and the other Mediterranean members have given the development of the Northern Dimension. Thus, in the same way that Finland does, they have recognised interests that the whole Union shares, irrespective of which direction they happen to lie in.

One way in which the Northern Dimension differs from the Barcelona Process, which is separately funded through the MEDA Programme, is that it requires no new institutions, nor a budget nor other instruments. What it does call for is more efficient use of existing resources, better coordination of functions, and cooperation between international financial institutions and the private sector. Since the whole idea has been to avoid asking the Union for additional appropriations, it is all the more important to make effective use of existing instruments and programmes, such as TACIS, in implementing the projects that have been given priority in the Northern Dimension policy. This requires all parties involved to work together to draft a plan of action. We know that in this, too, we can count on Spain.

The euro is taking its place alongside the dollar as a leading international currency. At the same time the EU’s position in the world is coming into sharper focus. With the arrival of the single currency, the Union’s responsibility for solving crises and problems in the international economy has also increased. A central precondition for our being able to respond to this challenge is that our own affairs are in order.

The events of last autumn gave us a concrete demonstration of how being part of the euro zone protects a small country from the disturbing effects of world-wide economic crises. It is important that the measures we adopt in the area of economic policy give a clear signal of our determination in this matter, especially during the early days of economic and monetary union.

The European Union’s role as an actor in international politics is strengthening, a trend that will further accelerate when the Treaty of Amsterdam enters into force. However, it is the general development in our continent, more than anything else, that is forcing the Union to raise its global profile. Especially in the prevention and management of crisis, there is a need for a concerted and strengthening input on the part of the Union.

There are still many crisis areas in Europe. The violent disintegration of Yugoslavia is turning into one of the great tragedies of our century. The international community was not able to prevent civil war in Bosnia. However, the international stabilisation operation - SFOR - has given us hope that even severe crises can eventually be resolved through broadly-based cooperation. Finland has peacekeeping forces in both Macedonia and Bosnia.

The crisis in the former Yugoslavia has taken a new and serious turn as a consequence of events in Kosovo. Unless determined measures are taken, there is a threat that a new civil war will erupt in the Balkans. It could have incalculable consequences. Acts of terror against the civilian population are outraging the whole world. The Albanian population, who are the majority in Kosovo, have been activated both politically and militarily. The Dayton peace process does not extend to creating a solution in the Kosovo question. The international community is searching feverishly for peaceable solutions to the worsening crisis. It is now essential that negotiations for a political solution begin between Belgrade and the Albanian side in Kosovo, on the basis of the proposal put forward by the contact group and under the guidance of the international community. The Kosovars must be guaranteed extensive autonomy.

Together with the rest of the international community, the European Union must bear responsibility. But the principal responsibility lies with those who wield power in the region. We must be prepared for years of effort. The last strongholds of the Cold War must be dismantled and peace built also in the Balkans. For stable democracy to be established in the Western Balkans, the citizens of those countries need a vista of hope. In this, the international community has a central role. There must be agreement on the conditions that will have to obtain before the countries of the region can know for sure that they are on the way to becoming full members of the international community.

Within the EU, Finland and Spain have many shared interests to attend to. Strengthening security and developing prosperity in both the Baltic and the Mediterranean regions will affect the positions of our two countries. Despite the geographical distance between us, we are closer partners as we make the transition to the third millennium.