Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the Australian National University’s Europe Centre in Canberra, 15 February 2007

(check against delivery) Consolidating and Reaching out – Europe as a global actor

It is a great pleasure to visit Australia and to speak here at the Australian National University's (ANU) Europe Centre. I am grateful to Professor Ian Chubb, Vice-Chancellor of University, and Professor Simon Bronitt, Director for the Europe Centre, as well as to the whole staff for organising this event.

One of the features of the European Union is that it has a rotating Presidency. Currently Germany is holding this position. Finland held the EU Presidency for the last six months of 2006. It was the second time for us. The previous one took place in 1999 – at the time I was the Foreign Minister. Since then the number of EU Member States has almost doubled from 15 to 27. Many former eastern European countries are now members of the EU. The Union has a population of nearly half a billion. None of the EU countries are big in the global scale but together the population is the world’s third largest after only China and India.

The Union is more than only economic or trade issues. In terms of international politics, the European Union is a key player in a number of areas from development issues to crisis management. It is for example the biggest donor of development and humanitarian aid in the world.

* * *

No nation or even region can cope with or solve global challenges alone. For this reason, we are strongly in favour of multilateral solutions and international treaties to combat such common threats and risks. The United Nations must be the key forum for international cooperation.

The international security threats we are facing today are increasingly non-military. Climate change, pollution, extreme poverty, contagious diseases and economic insecurity are threats against which it is impossible to use military action. Even to combat terrorism we need a broad variety of measures. Hatred and extreme violence cannot make a better world. We need to reduce tension in relations between the Western societies and the Islamic world in particular and to promote harmonious co-existence between all religions, cultures and civilizations.

There has always been cross border movement of people. But it is worth paying attention to root causes of migration. A key event of this field was the United Nations High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development last September in New York. It was the first UN meeting of this kind. Also the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization paid attention to cross border movement of people. I had the honour to co-chair this World Commission.

Europe faces a major demographic challenge; our societies are ageing rapidly. That is why some people say that Europe needs migration. Therefore, we have to develop a holistic approach in trying to find a proper solution to this question from the perspective of sending and receiving countries. In any case, we must remember that we are talking about people not about plain labour, and people need a full life in their new home countries.

* * *

Sustainable development means human security, democracy, respect for human rights, and well-being for both mankind and nature. We have long been aware of the negative impacts of today’s industrial development but have been unable – or unwilling – to take sufficiently radical action to deal with them. The Stern Review and the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are blunt reading in this respect.

The scientific evidence is undeniable – human activity is the principle cause of climate change. It means more intense storms, rising sea levels and higher temperatures. Hundreds of millions of people are at a risk to suffer hunger, health problems, water shortages and coastal flooding. Both reports lead to a simple conclusion: not acting is not an option. The more quickly we act, the lower the social, environmental and economic impacts will be. The challenge is global and our response must be international.

We all can do our share in this work. I am pleased that this University runs a very comprehensive environmental management programme here at the University.

I think that the Kyoto Protocol, signed and ratified by all the EU countries, was a major achievement. The fact that the Protocol does not have global coverage has also prompted accusations of unfair competition. We must now set our sights beyond Kyoto and decide what to do after 2012. The world needs a global treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies can help achieve results.

Energy issues are firmly on the international agenda. During our EU Presidency, we organised a special high-level meeting between the EU leaders and President Putin on energy issues. Dialogue between the EU and Russia is wider that economic cooperation only. The cooperation covers a wide range of issues from human rights to sustainable development. We are very content in the EU that Russia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

As to the relations between the Union and US, I am pleased to note that a high level dialogue on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development was established between EU and the US. The first meeting was held at ministerial level in Helsinki last autumn. It was the first time in four years that the Union and the US engaged in a dialogue about climate change and discussed tools to stop the present negative development. Also energy related solutions were high on the agenda.

* * *

The international community expects the Union to be an active player in international issues. We Finns faced this when the Lebanon crisis escalated last summer during the first days of our Presidency. The EU worked successfully for achieving a political solution to the serious situation – in particular through the United Nations. The Union provided direct humanitarian aid and other support to Lebanon during and after the war. EU Member States' remarkable contribution to the UNIFIL operation in the area is the backbone of this operation.

Our readiness to assume responsibilities has increased confidence in the Union as a peace broker in the region. We can play an influential role but we cannot of course manage alone. The Union is committed to support the UN and all the parties in achieving stability and security in the Middle East.

Confidence building must also take place at the grass-roots level, not just between governments or institutions. I believe that if women are more actively involved in the peace process, there is a better chance for a sustainable solution. I have worked together with the UN organization for women, UNIFEM, which has taken an active interest in supporting dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women. Finland promoted this initiative during the UN General Assembly week last September and at a meeting of Equality Ministers from the Union and from our Mediterranean partner countries.

The European Union has actively developed its crisis management activities – both civilian and military – since 1999. Actually this area has been one of the fastest growing dimensions of the Union’s work during the recent years. Together with the United Nations’ peacekeeping action the EU's military and civilian operations supported the election process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The biggest EU operation is Althea in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Union is likely to take a prominent role in the future civilian operation in Kosovo. The EU’s civilian operation to monitor the implementation of the peace process in Aceh, Indonesia has been a success. My predecessor, President Ahtisaari, has played a key role both in Kosovo and Aceh negotiations.

Starting from the beginning of this year, the EU will have permanently two rapid reaction groups in readiness. These are meant to be used – if need be – in urgent crisis management situations outside Europe. Germany, the Netherlands and Finland form one of these first groups for the first six months of this year. On the civilian side, the Union’s rapid reaction capability is provided by so the called Civilian Response Teams (CRT). The European Union has established a pool of almost 100 pre-identified and trained civilian experts, who are deployable within 5 days.

Finland supports strongly comprehensive approach to crisis management, which is based on the combination and effective coordination of military and civilian action. Apart from Union activities, Finland herself continues to participate in UN peacekeeping operations and NATO operations, for example in Afghanistan.

* * *

Let me now focus briefly on the Asia-Pacific area. Union's dialogues with Australia, and New Zealand, are among the most regular exchanges that the EU has with its partners at foreign ministers' level. These dialogues are organized every six months. In September, we had the pleasure of hosting your Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in Finland. It was an excellent opportunity to exchange views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. We also appreciated Mr. Downer's insights in the development in Australia's neighbouring areas.

We in Finland feel that climate change and future energy solutions are issues on which the cooperation between the Union and Australia could be intensified. Also, we need to work together to promote fairer globalisation – including the successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Round. There is no doubt that a successful conclusion of the Doha Round would bring major benefits for the world economy, for developed and developing countries alike. The WTO negotiations would help countries to progressively open their markets to competition for the benefit of all. Finland has always been a supporter of gradual liberation of world trade. However, sustainable profitability necessarily means social and environmental awareness and also responsibility.

In the context of Asia, I want to mention the sixth ASEM Summit held in Finland last September. It was one of the key events of the Finnish EU Presidency and the biggest ever organised international meeting so far in my country. The Summit adopted an ambitious declaration on climate issues and a decision on ASEM enlargement. India, Pakistan and the ASEAN secretariat as well as the new EU countries Bulgaria and Romania became Members of the ASEM. In the margins of the Summit, several other events took place to strengthen contacts and to improve Europe-Asian interaction among Parliaments, business communities and trade unions.

The Union's interest in working closely with Asian and Pacific countries is strong. For example, the EU is willing to find a way to get closer to the East Asian Summit, possibly as an observer or a guest of the host. The Union also wants to broaden its relations with the Pacific Islands Forum beyond development cooperation and to establish a regular and comprehensive political dialogue with the Pacific countries. I understand that there are positive signs to deepen the cooperation.

Why is the Asia-Pacific cooperation so high on the EU agenda? The answer is simple. All countries and regions are more and more interconnected. We must all recognise our joint responsibility for dealing with global challenges. Tackling these requires extensive international cooperation on a multilateral basis. The United Nations must be the central forum for such efforts. But intensive inter-regional relations can constitute significant initiatives to solve regional and global problems. We do need each other.

Thank your for your attention and I am ready to answer to your questions.