Check against delivery
Your Majesties,
Your Royal Highness
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Suzanne and I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Your Majesties for your kind invitation, the warm welcome and hospitality we have received. Little did I imagine, when I played ice hockey in Tillburg at the tender age of 13, that one day I would be hosted by Their Majesties the King and Queen of the Netherlands here at this splendid palace as the President of Finland. It is an honour and a privilege to be here with you today.
Dank u vel.
The Netherlands and I are old friends. We go back a long way. It did indeed start at an ice hockey tournament hosted by the legendary Tillburg Trappers when I was a teenager. Back then, it was a big deal to travel abroad. Everything felt so different, including breakfast with toast and chocolate sprinkles. Fortunately, I quickly realised that we have an acquired taste, probably from the cradle, that few other countries share, namely salty liquorice or what in Finland we call ”salmiakki”. It seems that Your Majesty and I still have some work to do, because our wives have not yet acquired that exquisite taste despite having become Dutch and Finnish nationals.
Be that as it may, I have been a big fan of the Netherlands ever since. Your people. Your values. Your history. Your art. Your entrepreneurship. Your academia. Your sport. I admire it all. During my studies, I was impressed by Erasmus of Rotterdam and his ideas of critical thinking and self-improvement. I also read Spinoza, whose arguments for reason and rationality guided my thinking. Without the work of these Dutch philosophers laying the groundwork for European Enlightenment, our continent would not be quite what it is today. I wouldn’t be what I am today.
Philosophy is not the only field where the Dutch have had an outsized impact on a European, even a global, scale. Masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and van Gogh are among the most impressive artists the world has ever seen. To us Finns, their art speaks through its modesty. Although very different from each other, the Dutch masters all managed to see the extraordinary in the ordinary. A girl with a golden earring, Sunflowers and The Laughing Cavalier are all images that myself and countless others have learned to associate with the Netherlands and the Dutch soul.
I have also had the chance to work with great Dutch colleagues such as Mark Rutte, Prime Minister Schoof, Frans Timmermans, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Wopke Hoekstra and many others. Many of these colleagues have over the years become friends. We don’t always agree on every little detail. But we agree on values and principles. And we have a shared vision for a united, tolerant and secure Europe. A vision we’ve dedicated most of our adult lives to advancing.
Besides values, our friendship is based on a peculiar, dry and understated sense of humour that only Finns and Dutch can understand. Appreciating the absurdness of life and being able to poke fun at oneself even in the toughest of situations are useful skills in life and politics. And I am sure you know the difference between an introverted and an extroverted Finn? Well, when an introvert speaks to you, he looks at his own feet. And when an extrovert speaks to you, he looks at your feet. No wonder we felt that social distancing at two metres apart during Covid was an intrusion into our privacy.
***
Dear Friends, lieve vrienden,
Finland and the Netherlands go way back. All the way to the dawn of Finland’s independence. The Netherlands was among the first countries to recognize our independence, on 28 January 1918. And you continued in this vein when you were staunch supporters of our EU membership in 1995 and by being among the first ones to ratify our NATO membership in July 2022.
Even before our independence, we felt the warmth of your friendship. In 1899 the Russian Czar began the so-called Russification of Finland. Its aim was to terminate our political autonomy and cultural uniqueness. A European-wide Pro Finlandia petition was launched to protest against the Czar, and several Dutch individuals signed the petition.
During the Winter War, when we were fighting for our independence and existence, the Netherlands was one of the donors of humanitarian aid to Finland. Some Dutch individuals even traveled to Finland to support our struggle. A Dutch volunteer from Jakarta is believed to have undertaken the longest journey to take part in the Winter War.
As Your Majesty mentioned in your speech, we had the opportunity to return the favor in a small way, when a devastating North Sea flood struck the Netherlands in 1953. Finland – at the time a poor country – quickly responded and sent wooden, well-insulated, prefabricated houses to the Dutch people.
***
In multilateral settings, Finland and the Netherlands have always been natural partners. It is no wonder that the Netherlands is often called the sixth Nordic country. We share the same mindset, values and respect for multilateral rules-based order and free trade. We are staunch supporters of international law, with your history in that field stretching all the way from Grotius to the courts in Hague. We both see global outreach and partnerships as indispensable.
Both Finland and the Netherlands are among the strongest supporters of Ukraine, politically and financially. Together, we are working with Ukraine and the United States, within the EU and NATO, as well as in the Coalition of the Willing, to achieve the best possible end to the war.
We all want peace. But the terms matter. Any disregard of international law will have far-reaching consequences for Europe and the world. As international politics becomes increasingly unpredictable and transactional, the best strategy for European countries is to stick together. We will only be heard if we speak with one voice.
***
Dear Friends,
I have spoken of the many things that unite us but I have not mentioned the obvious: football. You might be surprised to hear that we also have a king in Finland, and he’s present here tonight. Namely Jari Litmanen who is here with another Finnish legend Joonas Kolkka. For Finnish football fans, “Litti” is a true hero and a king of football. And undoubtedly to many Ajax fans as well.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The last state visit from Finland to the Netherlands was conducted in 1999 by President Martti Ahtisaari. Twenty-six years ago. At the time, I was still a PhD researcher and could never have dreamed of one day standing here, giving this speech.
It is my sincere wish, that many more Finnish and Dutch youth will get to experience what I did at thirteen. Be it through sports, school, culture projects or Erasmus study visits. That they will get to know each other and develop a curiosity towards each other’s countries. A curiosity that over time grows into friendship.
So, Ladies and Gentlemen, let us raise a toast to Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, to the people of the Netherlands and to the friendship between our two countries.
Proost.
Thank you.
