Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the banquet for the state visit of President of the Republic of Italy Giorgio Napolitano, 9 September 2008

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Allow me once more to wish you, Mr President, your wife, Mrs Napolitano, and your delegation a warm welcome to Finland. I know that this is not your first visit to our country, but we are pleased that you have chosen to come here on a state visit as the Italian Head of State.

My husband and I have also had an opportunity to visit Italy many times and enjoy your country’s historical sights and cultural riches. And, of course, we still remember the well organised Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.

Origins of the European Union are closely connected with Italy – the commitments went ahead from the Messina Conference to the Treaty of Rome. Italy has had many European opinion leaders. You, Mr President, are without doubt one of them. Your views were respected across party lines at the European Parliament. Today, we have again had an opportunity to discuss the future prospects of the European Union – as we have previously had at the meetings of eight presidents. I am looking forward to the next meeting, which you have kindly offered to host.

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The European Union alone is not Europe. European cooperation is being pursued also in the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The crisis in Georgia has shown in a concrete way how important it is to maintain close cooperation between these organisations. Unfortunately, we were unable to prevent the conflict, but we must now work persistently together on conflict resolution. The frozen surfaces of the complex and long-lasting conflicts are very fragile. If they re-erupt, the destruction and damage may be unpredictable.

Finland is the current holder of the OSCE Chairmanship, and our Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, in particular, has participated in mediating the crisis in Georgia. Finland focused on achieving a ceasefire, ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid and promoting respect for international law. I believe that, in order to attain sustainable solutions, we must tackle more widely and in-depth the causes and structures behind the conflicts.

In your speeches, Mr President, you have often referred to a concept of human security. This is a theme – similarly as the broad concept of security – that should be more widely discussed in the EU and in other contexts of international cooperation.

Italy is known as a builder of modern and global democracy. In today’s international cooperation, you support democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and efforts to achieve sustainable development. The same issues are important to us, too. World-wide, the food and energy crises are current common concerns, which may have unexpected impacts on how we fight poverty or on general security. In a few weeks time, these are exactly issues that will come up at the 63rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Finland and Italy also share a strong commitment to international crisis management. The crisis in Lebanon in summer 2006 came right at the beginning of Finland’s EU Presidency. We appreciated Italy’s rapid action in carrying out the operation in Lebanon.

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Relations between Finland and Italy are excellent. The research and student exchange is extensive, and we have close interaction in the other educational areas, too. Finland’s research-oriented innovation model and education system is attracting positive interest in Italy.

There is an active and broad-based cooperation between non-governmental organisations and in the cultural sphere. Both countries have cultural institutes in each other’s capitals: the Finnish Institute, Villa Lante, on the side of Gianicolo hill, and the Italian Cultural Institute here in Helsinki. At the moment, we are celebrating an Italian September in Finland – Italy can be seen and experienced at many events around the country.

Last spring, we Finns got an opportunity to enjoy the interesting ‘House in Pompeii’ exhibition at the Amos Anderson Museum. Next year, the Savonlinna Opera Festival will be hosting the Teatro Massimo from Palermo. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra has recently returned from their Italian tour, where they performed in Milan and Turin.

Italy is among Finland’s top ten import and export partners. Our trade has increased steadily and now amounts to almost four billion euros per year. Finnish products well known in Italy include lifts, paper and diesel engines. Both countries are famous for their design and glass products. There are some 80 companies in Italy with Finnish capital invested in them, and about a dozen Italian companies are established in Finland.

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Seas connect Europe Union to our neighbours. Italy is embraced by the Mediterranean Sea – or Mare Nostrum as you also call it – and the Baltic Sea washes our shores. Seas form natural contexts for cooperation. The Mediterranean Union, set up at the Paris Summit last July, encourages countries and groups of countries on both sides of the sea to engage in closer cooperation. We Finns support this, and, as a Baltic Sea state, share concerns about the declining health of the marine environments.

Professor Päivi Setälä, a Finnish researcher of antiquity and a former director of the Finnish Institute Villa Lante in Rome, has said that Europe has a long shared history born out of an enormous plurality and also out of conflict. It can also be added that the much talked European culture, in many ways, originates from Italy.

So, geography, history or culture do not divide our two nations. We are similar in many more respects than we are different – and we have a lot to learn from one another. European dialogue is a process of give and take.

Mr President, I would like to propose a toast to you and your wife, to the happiness and prosperity of the people of Italy and to friendship and cooperation between our two countries.