Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the gala dinner hosted by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 24.11.2008

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On behalf of myself, my husband and the whole delegation, I wish to thank you most sincerely, Your Royal Highness, for your invitation to Luxembourg. I have had the opportunity to visit your country on several occasions. This visit provides again a chance for us to get to know Luxembourg, and its heritage and culture.

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s visits to Schengen and the mining area of southern Luxembourg. Both places are connected with our common recent history and your society’s development. The Schengen Agreement is an important part of our European cooperation. The National Museum of Mining at Rumelange tells about the times before the European Union.

Finland was one of the poorest countries in Europe in the 19th century, and the crop failures at the time drove thousands of Finns abroad. Many moved to the United States – to the same areas where Luxembourgians also moved. The discovery of iron ore in Luxembourg was the start of a change that led your country to industrialisation and affluence.

In Finland, our forests once enabled us to develop an entire sector of industry, which for decades had a key role in our export industry. We in Finland have always considered it vital to provide everyone with equal opportunities for education and training - in other words, we have invested in people, our most important resource. Education and expertise are also an important form of security for people in the event of unemployment.

The post-Second World War period has been a time of unique cooperation in Europe. The founding of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg shortly after the war reflected the will to build the future of our continent on democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community a few years later created a basis for European wellbeing. Luxemburg is one of the founding members of the European Union and one of its headquarters. The short distances between Luxembourg and its neighbours make the notion of a Europe without borders a day-to-day reality for the people who live in this region.

Over the years, Luxemburg has launched many initiatives to deepen EU cooperation and has constructively contributed towards the completion of several lengthy negotiations.

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Diplomatic relations between our countries were established already in 1921. For a long time, Luxembourg’s steel and Finland’s paper accounted for much of the trade between us. Later on, our trade relations have diversified and contacts between companies in our countries have increased. For example, a joint seminar on energy, the environment and innovation will be held tomorrow morning. These themes have become important issues in our societies. It depends on us people how seriously we want to look for solutions that will secure sustainable development and the quality of life for future generations.

The Finnish carbon footprint is, unfortunately, big. One reason for it is our country’s northern location, which requires heating of our buildings. The long distances due to our geographic size contribute to emissions from traffic. There are no easy answers, but we believe that an innovative approach and cleaner technology will enable individuals and businesses to make changes in their behaviour. And the Finns seem to be prepared to change their ways of life.

The cultural agreement between our countries was concluded in the early 1990s, and it has enhanced our mutual interaction. Student exchanges under this agreement have mainly been in the area of music. An active student exchange is important for young people themselves, and for creating a basis and the intellectual capital for future relations between our countries. Our Ministries of Education and Culture have decided to update our programme of cooperation.

Finland’s accession to the European Union in 1995 has deepened our bilateral relations. We have also visibly become members of the same family. We opened an embassy in Luxembourg and Finnish ministers involved in the work of the EU Councils have been regular visitors your country. As Foreign Minister, I made an official visit to Luxembourg in 1996. As a newcomer, I was very pleased to hear views of the then Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Mr Jacques Poos, about EU politics.

Today, there are over a thousand Finns resident in Luxembourg. Many of them have lived here for more than a decade and work for the EU institutions, other international organisations and companies.

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I would like to propose a toast to You and your wife, to the happiness and successful future of the nation of Luxembourg. We have worked together to take forward numerous issues and matters both within the framework of the EU and the UN as well as in other international context. I am certain that our excellent cooperation will further deepen and strengthen. I would like to warmly welcome Your Royal Highnesses, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg, to visit Finland.