New Year Speech by President of the Republic of Finland on 1 January 2010

Citizens,

The past year's economic picture was bleak. We can look to the year that is just beginning with cautious hope, although the international economic situation is still marked by considerable uncertainty. Owing to the structure of Finland's economy, recovery may take somewhat longer in our country. Continued joint action is therefore needed.

The current recession is also causing high unemployment, which is still rising. The number of people who are out of work may reach 300,000 this year, and even more seasonally. Many companies have already laid off workers, and it depends on future development what will happen to these nearly 80,000 people and their jobs.

Work is the primary source of livelihood for us Finns. It is very important for young people to be able to study and find jobs. This is a basic matter for young people's own lives and for building society's future. It is an alarming fact that the unemployment rate among young people is three times as high as the figure among people over the age of 25.

The effects of unemployment extend to every part of society. The lesson of the previous recession, in the early 1990s, was hard: poorly targeted cost-cutting led to severe and in some respects irreparable social consequences. Too many of those who lost their jobs remained permanently excluded from working life. This must not happen again.

We now face the challenge of stimulating the economy and improving employment at the same time as the baby-boomers are beginning to retire. This means higher pension costs but also a chance to reform the structure of employment and economy. This requires skill and the ability to cooperate: new ideas and innovations must be adopted rapidly and we must also succeed in passing on the valuable tacit knowledge that has been accumulated in practical work to succeeding generations.

In international comparisons Finland is often considered a well-educated, self-renewing society. We do have good basic structures. In many business sectors, however, more research, innovation and quality development would have been needed already before. We must now work together to increase business diversity and strengthen competitiveness. We must pay special attention to small and medium-size enterprises, which have a large impact on employment.

Sustainable development means ensuring people's and nature's well-being. For this we need environmental technology. This is a rapidly developing field and demand is rising around the world. Finland already has expertise in this field, which can become a new important source of income for us.

Our nation's future must be built on sustainable development. This requires a strong economy but also social cohesion and ecological balance.

We should also have the courage to set the objective of high employment in Finland. To achieve this, we need effective education, employment and social policy as well as economic policy. This calls for all parties' joint resolve and cooperation.

Change should be safe. Citizens must be able to trust that they will be cared for. Livelihood is an important matter, but municipal services also have great significance in people's daily lives right now. Local authorities' finances and capacity to act should be the concern of the entire public sector.

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A strong public sector and dynamic business are not enemies but are both factors in building a just society and sustainable development. Developing good governance and its firm implementation still need to be promoted in Finland as well. Last year's long and, in part, quite difficult discussion concerning election finance is leading to new legislation. Hopefully increasing transparency will restore faith in politics, which is one of the fundamentals of a democratic society.

The institution of the presidency had its 90th anniversary last year. The Constitution of 2000 shifted power from the President to the Government and Parliament. This was done unanimously after lengthy preparation. The present Constitution has been in force for nearly 10 years and only one person has served as President during this time. I hope that more experience can be gained of the system before it is changed again. The Taxell committee, which was appointed to study the amendment of the Constitution, is expected complete its proposal early this year.

Amending the Constitution in any case must have broad support and follow a more complicated procedure in Parliament. If the decision is made to amend the Constitution, this must be approved by a majority of Parliament and then, after elections have been held, at least a two-thirds majority of the new Parliament.

In recent years, public interest has focused mainly on the relative powers of the supreme organs of state. Examining the functioning of our Constitution could provide a basis for broader social discussion concerning values. Genuine equality among citizens also demands respect for constitutional rights and the implementation of social justice.

Society must provide opportunities for participation, work and enterprise, but at the same time we must take care of those who are worse off. Without this balance we cannot fully succeed in the future. Everyone, including people who belong to linguistic and cultural minorities, must be able to feel that they are valued and appreciated members of our society. I believe that this is one of the great challenges for Finnish society in the coming years.

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Finland has long worked in the international community to promote the principles of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and social justice. Finland joined the Council of Europe in 1989 for this reason. We have been quite active and will continue to do so in future.

We have also been a member state of the European Union for 15 years. During this time, the Union has developed a great deal. The number of member states has nearly doubled, and the EU has gone through several treaty processes. The Lisbon Treaty creates a new and effective framework for a stronger Union. I hope that institutional issues can now take a less prominent role and that the Union can focus more on substance matters. In climate questions, the EU has demonstrated that it is ready to accept more responsibility.

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Climate change is a fact that is no longer questioned and the necessity to fight it has been generally accepted. Mitigating inevitable consequences that are already visible in a way that shows solidarity has become the objective of global cooperation. It was a disappointment that the recent UN conference in Copenhagen could not reach a consensus on means to mitigate climate change. We are nevertheless on a common path. There is still very much work to be done.

At the conference, Finland received international recognition for having promoted women's participation in sustainable development especially in the developing countries. Finland has considered this important both for equality and because climate change will have the most severe effects on the poorest people in the world, 70% of whom are women. Women are also a resource for necessary change.

Global problems also require local and regional action. We are striving in our own region to strengthen cooperation in environmental matters and particularly to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. Together with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and the Baltic Sea Action Group, I have invited a high-level Baltic Sea meeting to Helsinki on the 10th of February. We hope that this new type of a summit will bring closer cooperation among heads of state and government as well as representatives of business and civil society from all the countries in the Baltic Sea region.

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Ten years ago the member states of the United Nations adopted the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Goals. The most important of these is to reduce extreme poverty. Implementing the goals would have great significance for global security and sustainable development, but achieving them is difficult.

Finland and the other member states of the European Union have committed themselves to the UN development aid goal of 0, 7 per cent of the gross national product by the year 2015. We must retain this objective also in the current economic situation.

Peace is the foundation for development. Finland is sharing responsibility in international crisis management. This work is increasingly difficult, because today’s crises are complex and are often connected to nations' internal conflicts. Afghanistan is an example of this. Not only Finland but the entire international community must consider effective means to achieve peace and ensure the stable development of democracy. It is important for military and civilian crisis management, development cooperation and humanitarian aid to be coordinated better than they presently are.

Disarmament is returning to the international agenda. Monitoring and reducing arms could strengthen international trust and cooperation. The United States and Russia have made progress in the strategic arms reduction talks and will hopefully conclude a new START treaty in the near future. This year, a large international conference on nuclear security will be held for the first time. Finland will also participate in this conference.

Citizens,

Peace is a precious thing for Finns. We have been able to enjoy it for a long time. We respect our war veterans' and reconstruction generation's sacrifices and tireless work for our country. Finland will also demonstrate this by commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Winter War in March.

The past year was challenging in many ways. On behalf of my husband and myself, I would like to express thanks for the numerous contacts and encouragement that we have received. I wish all of you a Happy New Year 2010.