Mr Speaker,
Members of Parliament,
Last year ended in great sorrow. The Asian tsunami covered an exceptionally large area and caused enormous destruction, and repairing this destruction will take a long time and requires international cooperation. The tsunami also affected Finns. Together we have shared others' sorrows. Yesterday Parliament observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims. Grieving takes time but now we must also build a future for those who suffered from the devastation. It is equally important to learn from what has happened - what we can do to warn and protect people and how we can make aid more effective in different kinds of catastrophes and other emergencies. Security is a shared concern.
Before Christmas Parliament approved the Government report on Finnish Security and Defence Policy after a lively debate but for the most part as it was. I am glad it did, since I helped prepare it together with the Government. A broad consensus is a good thing in key security policy issues.
Public discussion regarding the effectiveness of the new Constitution has drawn perhaps the most attention to the provisions in the Constitution pertaining to the direction of foreign policy. It is important for the Constitution to be sufficiently clear. The political system must be given room to develop, however. Under the present and previous prime ministers cooperation between the President and the Government has gone well.
Politics, including foreign policy, involves reconciling different views and opinions. Political crises should be avoided and resolved without having to resort to legal means. Political discussion is an important part of democracy. Seeking short-term political gain by pretending to see signs of disagreement in unanimous positions is hardly in the interests of the nation.
Finland has been a member of the European Union for ten years. In January 1992 the Government submitted a report to Parliament concerning the effects of joining the EU. The report noted that membership would affect Finland's legal system and political decision-making more broadly than any previous international solution. Membership was viewed as a logical extension of the western integration in which Finland had taken part beginning with the 1961 EFTA agreement.
Economically the biggest challenges were expected in agriculture and the entire food chain. Finland would be part of an integrated European economic area with a common agriculture policy and a common customs and trade policy as well. Membership was expected to give Finnish enterprises and their products easier access to markets throughout the EU and in this way to improve the position of the Finnish economy. The third stage of monetary union was also in sight and the Government report in January 1992 saw no reason why Finland should not join.
With regard to foreign policy the report emphasized the basic idea of integration: Membership would restrict national leeway, but national goals would receive a stronger channel and Finland's significance for the other member states would grow. Responsibility for defence would remain in Finland's hands.
Now, ten years later, we can say that the biggest hopes and the worst fears that were expressed during the membership debate have not come to pass. The balance has been clearly positive for Finland. The world has changed much more than we believed possible and in this changed world membership of the European Union is a good thing. Finland has adjusted fairly well to EU agriculture. The challenge is how Finnish agriculture as part of European agriculture can adjust to globalization.
Finland's security policy position has grown stronger as a result of membership. Union membership is an important part of our nation's security policy solution. The Union's significance in this respect will grow with the new constitutional treaty and the development of the Union's crisis management capacity. We will continue to participate fully in Union activities in every field.
The euro and the single market have given stability to the Finnish economy and helped increase Finnish well-being in a rapidly globalizing world. Finland has complied with and defended the growth and stability pact. We have actively supported the strengthening of economic growth and stability in the EU along with the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. Employment and competitiveness must be among the EU's strengths.
Mr Speaker,
This year Parliament will decide whether to ratify the European Union's constitutional treaty. The treaty streamlines and clarifies the Union's activities and I hope that it will be ratified by Finland and all the other member states.
Membership of the European Union is something that Europeans have wanted. Integration has justifiably been called a peace process and we hope its example will spread to other parts of the world. Finland has emphasized that EU membership must be open to every European country that meets the criteria for membership.
Globalization remains a key challenge internationally and nationally. The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization completed its report last February. The results of the commission's work were discussed in various international forums last year. I am especially glad that the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution making the commission's recommendations part of the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
Finland needs a national globalization strategy to ensure its future. A Government working group completed an analysis of this subject last autumn. This analysis and broad discussion provide a basis for concrete decisions. We have not been idle up to now, of course, but have done a good job by European standards. Finland has been ranked highly in many international comparisons.
Our well-being and competitiveness require constant renewal and attention to maintaining our strengths. We are in a very good position to keep on succeeding. Globalization is not only about problems but also about new opportunities. We must grab these opportunities boldly.
This requires decisions and measures in different spheres of social life. Decisions should be made in a determined and democratic way. One of the strengths of Finnish society is the ability to make decisions together and carry them out. The collective bargaining round in the autumn and early winter is one example of cooperation between the labour market parties and the public sector.
A modern democratic state can do a lot to promote well-being. What the state's role has been and what it should be is an interesting question. Many other decision-makers also influence the outcome, however. Last week Chairman Jorma Ollila expressed his concern over the sale of Finnish firms to foreign investors. This is a welcome statement from the business world. It would be good to study and openly discuss what has happened to Finnish capital in recent years.
Globalization means increased possibilities for Finnish firms not only to export products to different countries but also to produce them far outside our nation's borders. This has increased investments made with Finnish capital abroad.
Finland also needs new investments - at home and abroad. I hope that foreign investments in our country will bring new jobs, innovations and cooperation networks as well.
Finland does not have to face globalization alone. Most European nations are struggling with the same issues. The European Union has set the goal of being the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world by 2010. I have already mentioned the importance of the Lisbon Strategy.
Mr Speaker,
Facing shared challenges and threats requires effective multilateral cooperation. The United Nations is a unique and indispensable organization for the promotion of international development and security.
The world has changed decisively during the 60-year history of the UN. The structures and lines that were agreed on when the UN was established are no longer effective in some respects. Finland wants to develop the world organization so that it can do a better job and be more representative.
The composition of the UN Security Council should be changed to reflect today's world. We support the expansion of the Security Council with new permanent and non-permanent members. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council also need to rationalize their agendas. Instead of reaffirming resolutions each year the UN should focus on implementing resolutions. The UN is significant when its decisions lead to real action and change.
I have talked about the European Union and the Union Nations. These institutions were created after the Second World War to prevent another global conflagration and regional conflicts. The EU and the UN have many tasks today. The end of the Cold War made possible last year's enlargement of the Union to include countries in Eastern Europe. We should also take advantage of the world political situation to reform the UN. No matter how much criticism international institutions receive, we have good reason to emphasize their work as promoters of international peace and prosperity this year, which marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Every generation reevaluates its country's history. This is important especially for young generations but also for the nation as a whole. During wartime and crises the basic functions of society are put to the test and people's constitutional rights are at risk.
In Finland wartime events were also scrutinized in the courts, partly in exceptional circumstances. Sorting out the past has mainly been left to historians, however. A look at the literature shows that there are large gaps in our history. Some areas have not been studied at all and previous research needs to be reconsidered in a longer time frame. I consider it important that the Government has started a project to investigate deportations during the Continuation War. The war and everything that happened during it is part of our shared history, which we should be aware of. It is a tribute to those who deserve it and a mark of respect to those who suffered.
Mr Speaker,
Members of Parliament,
I wish you success and wisdom in your demanding work and declare the 2005 session of Parliament open.