Speech by President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the 30th anniversary celebration of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg, 9 May 2008

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Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg is an excellent location for celebrating the 30th anniversary of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce. Finland has always enjoyed a close and significant connection with this city.

Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa did a wise thing when he granted the Hamburg Port privileges 819 years ago. We Finns have particular reason to be grateful for this, as Finland is today the fourth-largest customer of the Hamburg container port. A major portion of our exports and imports pass through Hamburg, not just to and from Germany but all around the world as far as China. Hamburg has become increasingly important as a transport hub in the Baltic Sea region, and the future development of the city is important for us all.

Secondly, I would like to express my appreciation for Finland being chosen the partner country for Hafengeburtstag Hamburg this year. We wish to emphasise the significance of this partnership at the festival. A number of events will take place around Hamburg in the next few days, the most conspicuous probably being the Finland Festival area, which will be opened later today on the Kehrwiederspitze. Many Finnish cities and regions and several companies have a presence there, presenting Finland as a tourist destination. There are also many Finnish cultural specialities available for sampling.

Many of you here participated in the corporate forum on port logistics yesterday. The German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce was involved in organizing the forum. Some 30 Finnish port companies participated in the forum, showing the increasing importance of and interest in the transport sector in relations between Finland and Germany.

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The world has changed a lot since the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce was founded at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki in 1978. Back then, we were in the era of the Cold War, Germany was divided into the Federal and Democratic Republics, and Finland’s largest trading partner was the Soviet Union.

Now, 30 years later, Germany is united and has been for so long that young people scarcely remember anything different. The Soviet Union is a thing of the past, and all of the countries along the Baltic Sea except for Russia are Member States of the European Union.

Germany has been Finland’s largest trading partner for many years now, although Russia, whose economy is growing fast, it not far behind. The statistics for 2007 show that trade between Finland and Germany is worth 15 billion euros, having increased ten times over in the past 30 years.

This is an amazing achievement, due in part to the efforts of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce, which acts on behalf of German companies in Finland as well as Finnish companies in Germany. This bi-directional approach has proven excellent, and I would like to commend you for it.

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This is a good foundation for the future. Economic growth in the Baltic Sea region is robust. The enlarged European Union and the increasing prosperity of Russia translate into great potential for all the countries in the region. One of the principal aims of the EU Northern Dimension Policy is to increase cooperation with Russia, Norway and Iceland to develop the economy of the entire Baltic Sea region. Economic cooperation between countries in the region is also an important component.

In the enlarged union, regional cooperation between Member States and with countries bordering on the EU has become increasingly important. Here in the north we can understand the importance of Baltic cooperation. Regional cooperation is a major growth factor while contributing to stability and security in a broad sense. The Baltic Sea strategy of the EU, which is currently under preparation, will further strengthen regional cooperation.

National borders have become less significant within the European Union, particularly within the Schengen zone. Even natural obstacles are no barrier when the will and the potential for closer regional cooperation exist. In northern Germany, there has been much talk recently of the Fehmarn-Belt bridge project, which would create a land link between Copenhagen and Hamburg and thus a land connection from Sweden to Germany too. Finland and Estonia, for their part, have decided to investigate the feasibility of a railway tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn.

Economic growth is important, but socially and ecologically sustainable development must be an equal and parallel goal. Climate protection has become the major issue in this area, as it has received the support of all of us at the United Nations Climate Summit and at the Climate Change Conference in Bali. The European Union can have a decisive role to play in assuming responsibility and encouraging others to take action. The EU has set itself highly challenging goals for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. But the time for action is now! I am pleased that Hamburg has declared its ambition to be a ‘model metropolis’ in climate protection and that there are so many ongoing environmental protection projects in the city.

Climate protection is closely connected with other areas of environmental protection. Urgent action is also needed to save the Baltic Sea. The Cracow plan of action of the Helsinki Commission must be implemented as soon as possible and as effectively as possible.

Obviously, the environmental impact of such major projects as the Fehmarn-Belt bridge or the Russia-Greifswald natural gas pipeline must be assessed carefully.

I consider it very important that all the Baltic Sea countries should contribute to protecting the sea. At the end of last year, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and I wrote a letter to all the heads of state and government of the Baltic Sea countries, addressing this issue. I believe that here in northern Germany and in Hamburg in particular there is a special interest in saving the Baltic Sea. It is, after all, the sea that joins us. I hope that this matter will feature prominently in German-Finnish cooperation in the future.

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Ten years ago, my predecessor Martti Ahtisaari addressed the 20th anniversary celebration of the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce in Essen. His talk focused on the EMU and the future common currency. Since that time, the European Union has enlarged, particularly in the Baltic Sea region. Building a common Europe is an ongoing project with ongoing challenges. In this context, the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce is well placed to continue its valuable work, especially to aid small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting exports and investment, and maintaining an effective network of contacts.

I would like to wish the German-Finnish Chamber of Commerce and its members good luck and every success in the future.