SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, MR. MARTTI AHTISAARI
AT THE OPENING OF THE 1999 ANNUAL SESSION OF PARLIAMENT ON 31.3.1999

The 25^th Parliament of Finland has been chosen. I congratulate all of you on your election.

One of the first tasks of the new Parliament will be to help bring about a majority Government capable of functioning effectively. That Government has a demanding field of work before it. Finland’s position as a member of the European Union and particularly our Presidency in the second semester of this year present special demands.

This Parliament will be the first of the new millennium. We must ask ourselves what kinds of reforms will best equip us to succeed in the future.

This decade has been one of struggle against recession. Now we have put in place the preconditions for concentrating on reforms that will strengthen the foundation of Finnish society.

To a growing degree, it is through cooperation that we must seek answers to the challenges of the future. That is because those challenges are largely shared: globalisation, competitiveness and unemployment. The Euro is creating stability in the Finnish economy. Our domestic market has expanded to encompass the territory of the Union.

So that employment and prosperity can be safeguarded, Finland must be a country that attracts new production and investment. In addition to capital, also labour is moving across borders. It is, however, important that specifically our own country, Finland, is seen as a good environment in which to operate and that people have the opportunity to work in their own country.

Our future depends above all on our having enough people who are enterprising and create jobs. It is essential from the perspective of the economy that a greater number of rapidly growing and internationalising companies than we now have be created in this country.

There must be a determined effort to improve the employment situation. Structural unemployment must be tackled more vigorously. Attitudes must be made positive towards ageing members of the labour force and workers’ abilities must be constantly developed. The knowledge and skills of ageing employees must be kept up to date. Long periods of unemployment must not be allowed to happen, because it is especially difficult to return to working life after them.

The prerequisites for working longer are there, because the health of the ageing segments of the population is improving. Incentives to remain longer in the workforce must be created. Now, things that are meant to be incentives often have the opposite effect.

Changes in working life are called for in other respects, too. It is important to have a good and fair atmosphere at workplaces. Burnout is a real problem. Non-intervention in matters is not politeness when a colleague needs support. Those of our neighbours who are struggling with problems must not be left to fend for themselves.

The adequacy of public funds and their allocation must always be carefully weighed. If we have to make economies, we must at the same time give prudent attention to ensuring that the foundation of our welfare society is taken care of.

The Finns support their welfare society.

Parliament must accept responsibility for the future over the long term. This presupposes tackling problems in a way that prevents them from tumbling down around our ears. The horizon in the work of Parliament must be further away than four years. You must be able to see long beyond one term.

The past fifteen years have seen a marked increase in the amount that Finland spends on research and development. This year, our inputs into this sector, which creates new high-level know-how, will be in excess of three per cent of gross domestic product. We have been able to see that this investment has paid off in many ways. Yet unemployment has been falling more slowly than we had hoped and believed. We can also sense and see around us a great concern that inequality, be it between regions or people, is on the increase.

A prerequisite for the wellbeing of our nation is that as many citizens as possible have an opportunity to work and are eager to do so. Only that way can we properly look after those of our citizens who need support in different stages of their lives.

We can be proud of our educational standard. Yet we must take care that pride does not go before a fall. Developing our school and university systems is a constant challenge.

Have we, for example, defined higher learning too narrowly? Could it not have a broader compass than the present one, taking in also manual skills, culture, services or special agricultural production? Could we not, for example, make more use of things like electronic commerce to serve those regions that have remained beyond the effective "coverage area" of our society? Could we develop a system that would link universities, polytechnics and research institutes in efforts to help also those small companies that operate closer to everyday life? The good experience that the work of the Technology Development Centre has provided could, in my view, be put to more extensive use in serving our nation.

Manual skills, culture, services and agriculture are distributed more evenly between the various parts of the country than high technology. By revitalising small companies in the regions, jobs could be created more comprehensively and the strengths of different regions developed. Above all, I consider it important to demonstrate respect for these sectors through concrete measures, thereby creating faith in the future and livelihoods in a larger geographical area than at present.

The events of recent weeks in the Balkans cast a shadow over the international situation. They show how serious the shortcomings of the present-day European security system are. It can be founded only on functioning and open democracies.

The policy of the Yugoslav leader Milosevic in Kosovo is a blatant violation of human rights, cooperation and democracy.

Ruthless violence against the civilian population of one’s own country can not be permitted in today’s Europe. The Finnish Government hopes that peace will be restored. For that, President Milosevic must cease violence in Kosovo and choose peace. The Finnish Government announced yesterday that it was providing humanitarian aid to alleviate the refugee problem. Finland is prepared to participate in ensuring peace and in the reconstruction of Kosovo.

The economic and social situation in Russia is difficult. Russia is seeking her way.

Despite these difficulties, the security situation in northern Europe has remained stable. The Baltic Sea region is becoming a new European cooperation area. In this, the Baltic States’ preparations for EU membership are of central importance.

Within the European Union, Finland has been trying to strengthen cooperation between the Union and Russia. One aspect of this is our project to develop the EU’s Northern Dimension, which has gained wide support. Developments in Russia will be centrally to the fore during the Finnish Presidency. We do not want Europe to close in on itself; instead, through the EU, we are trying to build cooperation everywhere and in all directions. The European Union is Russia’s most important cooperation partner.

The European Commission tendered its resignation after it had come in for severe criticism relating to administrative shortcomings. Since it was the first resignation of its kind in the many decades that European integration has been in process, it is of great significance as a matter of principle.

The various institutions of the European Union have many features that reflect an outmoded culture of administration and inadequate openness. There is now an opportunity to create an open and effective administration meeting the demands characteristic of the Nordic countries. That will also promote enlargement of the Union.

The agreement on the appointment of the new President of the Commission and the Agenda 2000 settlement are important from the perspective of our own EU Presidency. Nevertheless, many matters will remain to be dealt with during our time at the helm. We must begin implementing the Amsterdam Treaty and Agenda 2000. We must set about preparing for the institutional reforms that will make enlargement possible. Thus we must determinedly push on with enlargement. What is involved is a historic opportunity, which must not be spoiled.

Thus our spell in the Presidency will be demanding, and it is a real challenge for us. But we are prepared for it.

Quite rightly, a debate on the state of political democracy took place during the recent election campaign. Let this assessment continue. Writing in his capacity as Reader’s Editor in the newspaper Keskisuomalainen on 26.3.1999, Kalevi Kivistö made a valuable contribution. I shall quote him:

"If citizens do not trust either politicians or journalists, democracy can run into a crisis. The less trust there is in these pillars of the democratic system, the more room is created for the kinds of ‘speakers of the truth’ that historical experience urges us to beware of. For that reason, restoring trust in both politics and the media is a shared challenge and task for both. They may have reservations about each other, but they must not be indifferent to democracy."

Kivistö has summed up our shared challenge well.

In building a good society, it is not often the case that the way in which money is spent and power exercised is all that is involved. There is also a need for a tolerant and encouraging atmosphere and an attitude of respect for others.

One of the central challenges in the millennium that is about to begin will be that of making the transition to a multicultural Finland. From now on, growing numbers of Finns whose mother tongue is not Finnish or whose roots are not in Finland will be building their lives in this country.

Fortunately, no real xenophobia has developed in Finland, even though our immigrant population grew just during those years when the country was suffering a difficult recession. However, we should constantly work to encourage tolerance in our own society. Studies show that negative attitudes towards alien religions have been on the increase. This is a feature that gives cause for concern. A dialogue between religions and cultures must be promoted.

I wish the new Parliament success in its work and declare the 1999 session open.