Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen to the diplomatic corps at a banquet at the Presidential Palace on 20 April 2006

Spring in Finland is always a bit unpredictable. First it seems that it will never come and then it suddenly surprises everyone with its charm. One of my friends who moved here from abroad assured me that one cannot appreciate Finland’s spring and summer sufficiently if one has not had to endure the darkness of autumn and winter. The lucid spring light is now already with us, even if the warmer weather is late in arriving this year. One sure sign of spring for the people working in this building is the annual banquet in honour of the diplomats accredited to Finland. I would like to wish you all warmly welcome.

Last year we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. We agreed to boost our efforts to attain the Millennium Goals, and also to enhance the functioning of the UN. We decided to set up two new bodies at the United Nations: the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. These reflect well the conception in modern conflict analysis of what is required for building sustainable democracy. I hope that these new bodies will help us reform the operations of the UN as a whole. Building a democratic society is a tough, continuing process in which partnership and encouragement are just as important in international relations as is rapid management of increasingly severe crises.

Many feel that the UN reforms are appropriate but insufficient. This is a wholly justified view, but we should not short-change ourselves on what we have already achieved. It is always difficult to establish a consensus in a world organization with nearly 200 member states, each with their own views and priorities. Now and in the future, progress can only be attained in small steps. The decisions that have been made are important. They provide welcome means to help those member states in which the building of a democratic state — often following huge conflicts — has got no further than a fragile start.

Here in Finland, we want to contribute actively to this process, and I believe that our pragmatism may serve it well. Finland is standing for membership of the Human Rights Council. We are committed to respecting and promoting human rights worldwide. We have published a comprehensive programme on our focus areas in human rights and committed ourselves to promoting this programme as a member of the Human Rights Council. Naturally, we hope for broad-based support for Finland’s candidacy.

The reform in the UN must be continued actively and with determination. The President of the General Assembly, the incoming Swedish Foreign Minister, Mr. Jan Eliasson, needs now the support of us all in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the UN.

The slowness in reforming the operations and composition of the Security Council demonstrates well how difficult it is to reform the world organization. It comes down to principles, fairness and power. We must not give up; we must be able to make progress in reforming the Security Council. Its composition should better reflect today’s reality, which is why Finland is in favour of expanding the Security Council to include new permanent and non-permanent members.

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Finland will take up the Presidency of the European Union from the beginning of July. We have already enjoyed excellent cooperation with the current Presidency holder, Austria, and with Germany which will hold the Presidency after Finland.

You have all been in a position to follow our Presidency preparations, and you are well acquainted with our focus areas. We do not pretend to be miracle workers, but it is our understanding that each Member State taking up the Presidency should aim to boost the ability and willingness of the EU to tackle future challenges. This will also increase the confidence of EU citizens in the EU.

Finland’s aim during the Presidency is to focus on improving the practical workings of the EU, on improving employment and innovation, and on enhancing the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Throughout its Membership, Finland has been in favour of developing the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Defence Policy. A common foreign policy makes the EU a more efficient and effective actor in the world context, but also a better and more predictable partner. The EU has to cooperate with other countries and international actors in building a better tomorrow. For this reason, events such as the EU-Latin America/Caribbean summit during the Austrian Presidency and the ASEM summit during the Finnish Presidency are very important.

The fate of the Constitutional Treaty remains a major issue. As you well know, Finland feels that the new Treaty would represent a clear improvement over the existing one, and we are in favour of approving it. We would like to work to promote approval of the Treaty — perhaps as early as next year — and we will take this into account when planning our national actions.

It would be unrealistic to think that the Member States who have turned down the Constitutional Treaty could be ‘forced’ to accept it by the majority of the member states ratifying it. Equally, it would be impossible to ‘force’ Member States who have already ratified the Treaty to accept a new or revised Treaty.

European integration is not based on compulsion or imposition. Integration can only proceed as a project of shared targets and interests, supported by citizens. A new Treaty for the EU can only be achieved through a just and fair negotiation process.

This year, Finland is celebrating one hundred years of universal suffrage. Of particular interest in this is that women achieved equality with men with regard to the political rights. I hope that this will be of interest and an inspiration to many in tackling the challenges of today.

I would like to thank the diplomatic corps in Finland for your excellent cooperation and your representation of the views of your respective countries. Change is a fact of life for diplomats, and I would like to wish those of you who are leaving us all the best in your future duties, while cordially welcoming those of you who are new here to the Spirit of Helsinki.