Lecture by President Tarja Halonen of Finland at Vilnius University on 7 March 2002

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European Integration - A Finnish Perspective




It is a great privilege for me to give a lecture at Vilnius University, this esteemed centre of science and scholarship.

Year 2002 will be important for Lithuania. Towards the end of the year Lithuania is expected to achieve her goal of full integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. We are looking forward to the successful conclusion of Lithuania's accession negotiations with the European Union next autumn.

The Copenhagen European Council in December will take historic decisions concerning the addition of as many as ten new members to the European Union. A few weeks earlier the Prague Summit of NATO will decide on the accession of new members to the Alliance.

Thus this year will be memorable, but life continues also after the wedding.

From this perspective I want to share with you our experiences of EU membership since we joined just over seven years ago.

I would like to begin with a general observation. In my view, integration is something more and broader than just membership of the EU or NATO. Many other organisations, notably the Council of Europe where you hold now the presidency and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as EFTA and the OECD, have played and continue to play an important role in integration.

Yet we have seen that integration is not an end itself; it is a process meant to advance peace and the well-being of peoples. Present organisations play their roles in this process, and those roles may change over time.

Finland advanced into European co-operation step by step over a long period of time. We joined the Nordic Council in 1956 and we were involved with the European Free Trade Association from the beginning. Our relationship with the European Union likewise took quite a while to develop to full membership. We concluded a free-trade agreement with the European Communities in 1973; the agreement establishing the European Economic Area entered into force in 1994, just one year before we joined the Union.

Every enlargement has its own character. It is essential to recognise that the EU enlargement in 1995 was very different from today's process. Finland, Sweden and Austria had had a long history of gradual integration into the structures of European integration. Today's candidate countries do not have the same advantage and in addition the pace at which the EU is developing is even faster than eight years ago. We should not underestimate the complexity of the enlargement process, but we are determined to make it a success.

In our approach to integration we have followed a general strategy of open-mindedly going forward along with others, opening ourselves gradually to Europe and to the world. We have taken an active role so that we can have a say and influence in matters that concern our interests.

National interests will not disappear in a greater and integrating Europe or in a globalised world. But there are greater entities and wider European and global interest. Interests are best when defined broadly and pursued through active co-operation. Such an approach means a win-win situation for all parties concerned, rather than a zero-sum game.

To pursue your interests effectively, you have to be at the negotiating table, for the best of your country and for the best of Europe.

I am very pleased that Lithuania seems to have adopted this approach. Already as a candidate country Lithuania can promote her interests in the EU. You are already taking part in and influencing the discussion on the future of the EU that started at the Convention last week.

One way to have influence is to present initiatives and seek support for them through partners and coalitions. Coalitions that vary with the subject and theme in question are typical for the EU.

It is important that all members of the EU are equal. We have witnessed a tendency in all of the bigger countries to exclude smaller nations from decision-making. This is not how the EU is made more efficient or powerful.

The enlarged EU is going to have a stronger "Baltic Sea flavour" and I hope that this will influence the way the Union works. Regional co-operation will continue to be encouraged also inside the EU.

To achieve negotiation results is important, but these must have popular support. Differences in domestic policy matters will continue to exist also in the future.

You are going to be the first Lithuanians in the European Union and your culture and your identity is welcome. Lithuania will not shrink with membership, rather the opposite.

It is important for a small country to guard and nurture its identity and distinct characteristics. Identity grows from national culture, traditions and historical experience. Social networks and welfare, economic performance and good neighbourly relations are other factors that can shape an identity. The capability and will to defend oneself is an expression of this identity as well as education for the future. A solid identity gives a healthy self-esteem and strengthens respect among others. A nation with this asset is always a constructive contributor to integration and has the maturity to pool its sovereignty with others for the common good.

Integration of economies is welcome, but flourishing national cultures are the building blocks of European identity. Integration does not need to threaten national identities; on the contrary, you might see their revitalisation. But this tendency may need your support.

EU is a good brand, but today's key word is globalisation. We Finns are often asked what is the secret behind our success in a globalised world.

Our lesson is that one has to be receptive to new technologies and harness them to build a genuine information society. It also means allocating growing amounts of funding for research and development. Above all, it means understanding that well-educated people are a natural resource and a competition factor for a nation, as important as any other. Thus we must invest in the future.

Integration adds to security, in the broad sense of the concept. It increases stability and it also requires democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The European security structure is being re-shaped. The EU and NATO are admitting new members and both organisations are transforming themselves. Interaction and interdependence between the EU and NATO are likewise growing. The EU will gradually increase its responsibilities in the field of civilian and military crisis management to maintain security in Europe and nearby regions. In this task it will rely often on NATO's resources. NATO's focus will continue to be on maintaining the trans-Atlantic security relationship.

The European Union is especially well suited for crisis management. It is already a strong actor in the economic and political spheres and now we are developing a capacity for military crisis management as well. We are very pleased that this development is taking place under the guidance of General Gustav Hägglund of Finland, who chairs the Military Committee.

NATO is important today - to its members, to applicant countries as well as to its partners. Finland is and will be interested in crisis management and other co-operation with NATO, like in the Euroatlantic Partnership Council (EAPC).

We hope that Lithuania as well as Latvia and Estonia will succeed in their pursuit of NATO membership and understand that achieving this will strengthen stability in the Baltic Sea region.

But threats and risks in Europe are in a lesser extent classical military ones. They are more and more non-traditional, mostly relating to the everyday human security, but in some cases they are new types of asymmetrical threats, like terrorism. Against threats like these, traditional military means are of limited use.

Consequently, the security concerns of ordinary citizens are continuing to grow in importance. Here, efforts on the European Union level must be supplemented by others on the regional level and through bilateral measures, for example in the form of direct cross-border co-operation. We already have the regional forums and instruments we need for this.

The EU's Northern Dimension provides a general umbrella structure for regional co-operation. Within it, the conditions for cross-border cooperation between the member states and Russia have been improved.

Russian participation in European integration processes is important to the whole of our continent. It is even more important to us as neighbours of Russia. We believe that issues relating to Kaliningrad can be solved in a positive way. Indeed, we can even see opportunities for intensified co-operation, because enlargement will have positive effects on both sides of the border.

Countering risks and threats and, where possible, preventing them is a prerequisite for welfare. Stability and security can be challenged also from within our society. We must address internal social and economic inequalities with the same determination as we are trying to reduce them between countries. Building social welfare and equality is one of the pillars of stability and prosperity.

I am convinced that this view is shared by all countries around the Baltic Sea. Within the EU we are equal partners. Profoundly new and unparalleled opportunities are opening up. We work hard to conclude the negotiations and welcome you as member of the European Union.

Already today the Baltic Sea region is one of the main growth centres in Europe and it has all possibilities for even a better future.