ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND
MARTTI AHTISAARI TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF SLOVENIA
IN LJUBLJANA ON 9.12.1998

I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you here at the National Assembly. Mine is the first official visit by a Finnish head of state to Slovenia, but my earlier trips to your country before it gained independence have left a deep impression on me. I have also closely followed your achievements since independence. Slovenia deserves admiration for the pace at which she is developing.

My intention is to talk about European integration. After all, we are right on the threshold of the European Council’s meeting in Vienna, where a further step forward in this process will be taken. In addition to that, I would like to touch on some questions of European security.


Supporting enlargement is the most central challenge to which the EU is having to respond at the moment. Enlargement will promote stability and security as well as prosperity and social development. Therefore Finland supports it.

What enlargement involves is a process that in itself allows all countries taking part in it to strengthen their position in Europe.

Reforming the Union’s institutions and resolving issues connected with the Agenda 2000 document are an essential part of developing the Union. In addition to these tasks, we also have to implement the Amsterdam Treaty and carry through the third stage of economic and monetary union.

Enlargement is a challenge not only for the present EU members, but also for the candidate countries. The starting point is clear. The applicants are seeking membership of the Union in its present form. Besides that, it must be possible to expect the applicants to be prepared to institute reforms also in conditions of deepening integration.

The EU Commission recently published reports on the progress that the candidate countries had made. These reports are intended to encourage you on your journey towards meeting the criteria for membership.

We in Finland know from experience that joining the European Union is a tough challenge. Quite a lot is demanded of a small country. The role of parliament is central when a country is preparing for membership. After my discussions with your political leadership today, I do not have the slightest doubt that Slovenia will perform this task with distinction.

In Finland, our pre-accession negotiations are still fresh in memory. We shall be pleased to share our experiences with you, if you believe that will be useful.


In our experience, the most protracted discussions are actually conducted in our own country as we try to shape our negotiating positions. That is because the negotiations are always about the adoption and implementation of Union legislation. It pays to have as few as possible main goals of our own, and then we can get results.

In Finland, we reported to our citizens and parliament at an early stage - openly and without avoiding questions that were awkward from our country’s point of view. Thus the Finns were able to take part in the debate. That was important, because it was the people who decided in a referendum whether or not Finland would join. We have understood that the intention in Slovenia is to do the same. Support for the EU has remained at a high level in Finland.

In the final analysis, weighing the pros and cons of EU membership is always subjective. I know that our farmers have had to show greater adapatability than the rest of us. But Finland has undeniably gained a great deal from membership. Being able to influence development is important, and within the EU we are on an equal footing with other countries in formulating decisions that will determine the future of Europe.

We have been pleased to note that the EU is paying more attention to its northern regions. At the Vienna meeting of the European Council we shall be deliberating a report on the development of the EU’s Northern Dimension and we hope to be able to secure support for the project. It is important in an integrating Europe that we in the north are interested in the southern parts of our continent and vice versa.


European security is our common concern. We must adapt different organisations accordingly. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe provides a transatlantic foundation for shared values and principles. Its role must be strengthened in, especially, the area of preventing and managing crises.

NATO has retained its importance as one guarantor of stability in Europe’s changed security order. The Alliance must be developed flexibly to enable it to respond to present and future challenges.

All states have the right to arrive at their own solutions with respect to security. Finland is a NATO partner. In that capacity, we have more influence in matters concerning security policy and a greater opportunity to participate in the development of a European crisis-management capability. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council is now developing its own position within the system.

Finland has been an active participant in UN peacekeeping operations for decades. Our wish to contribute to the maintenance of peace both in Europe and elsewhere is based on that tradition. We have provided both military forces and civilian personnel to help implement, for example, the Dayton Peace Agreement. We are currently participating in several operations in Slovenia’s immediate region. These include the UN preventive Deployment Force in Macedonia and the NATO-led SFOR operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the civilian side, we have sent police to take part in various operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania. Finland is also sending a contingent of experts to take part in the OSCE verification mission in Kosovo.

As peacekeeping operations become increasingly diverse in character, they include a constantly growing number of civilian tasks. Crisis management has expanded in scope and includes a wide range of instruments for use in different situations.

The question of developing a European crisis-management capacity has become more topical. In this respect, we must avail ourselves of the opportunities that the Treaty of Amsterdam will place at our disposal when it comes into force next year. One of the important achievements of the Treaty is that it makes it possible for the European Union to implement the so-called Petersberg tasks. In other words, it gives the Union a capacity for crisis management.

A collective capacity for crisis management is an essential part of the EU’s evolving common foreign and security policy. I know that these issues are also important for Slovenia, and I greatly appreciate this opportunity to outline our views to you here in Ljubljana.


Geography and history have separated the peoples of Europe until now. Culture and economics have broken down the dividing barriers. The European Union is the main trailblazer in this change. We support Slovenian membership of the Union.

I wish you the very best of success as you put the finishing touches to the work of making your society eligible for membership. Our own experience is that Finland’s post-war success has been founded on a national unity of purpose. The father of our Constitution and first President of Finland K. J. Ståhlberg expressed this idea in a nutshell shortly after we had achieved independence when he said:

"The State of Finland must rely first and foremost on its own people giving it support that is as undivided and permanent as possible."