HE Mr Pekka Huhtaniemi
AMBASSADOR OF FINLAND
Speech made at CFCC Meeting in full:
”Features of Finland’s foreign policy”
• We are a member of the EU since January 1995 and one of the original members of the Eurozone since January 1999. We have performed the role of the EU Presidency twice: in 1999 and in 2006.
• EU is the central framework of our foreign policy. Finland is not member of NATO but is co-operating with NATO on a broad basis. With Great Britain, our relations are close, diversified and free of any irritants.
• In addition to our EU identity, we have a strong Nordic identity. Our co-operation with other Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland) extends to all walks of political and societal life. We are also engaged in multifaceted co-operation among Nordic and Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).
• International co-operation in the High North (Barents Sea and the Arctic Region) is major priority for Finland. We welcome the recently found settlement of the long-standing Russo-Norwegian dispute on the delimitation of their economic zones in the Barents Sea. This, together with increased public attention focused on environmental and resource issues in the High North hopefully generates more dynamic international co-operation in that part of the world.
• With Russia we share over 1000 kms of common border, long and – at times – troubled history, important and increasing amount of trade and two-way investments as well as growing flows of tourists and cross-border workers. The relations between EU and Russia provide the overarching framework for our dealings with Russia. Within these parameters we have established a broad network of bilateral co-operation with Russia, particularly in the neighbouring areas of North-Western Russia, including St. Petersburg. A high-speed train link will connect Helsinki and St. Petersburg as from next December.
• Finland is a strong supporter of multilateral co-operation in world politics. We are an active member of the UN and its specialized agencies, OECD, OSCE, WTO, Bretton Woods Institutions, Council of Europe and so on. Our role as a major supplier of troops to UN’s peace-keeping operations and to NATO-led crisis management operations (eg. in the Western Balkans and Afghanistan) is widely known and highly appreciated.
• We underline the importance of a comprehensive approach and well-synchronized action (prevention, military and civilian inputs, humanitarian relief, development aid, reconciliation) in all crisis situations. We have at the moment ca. 500 military troops in international peace-keeping and crisis management operations in addition to ca. 160 civilian officers.
• Our ODA expenditure approaches 1 billion euros p.a. and we are committed to reaching the 0,7 % GNP target by 2015. Sustainable development and poverty reduction are the guiding principles of our development co-operation policy.
• Regarding the UN more specifically, we are a candidate for one of the rotating seats in the UNSC for the years 2013-2014 and we are campaigning world-wide to secure a positive vote in the UNGA in the Autumn of 2012. Among the items we are specifically pursuing in the UN, I can mention the full implementation of UNGA Resolution 1325 (“Women, Peace and Security”) world-wide in international and national crisis management contexts. As to our own contributions in this regard, we are seeking to deploy more and more women in international crisis management operations. We are also in favour of achieving for the EU a fully competent status in the UN and, in the longer term, securing for the EU a permanent seat in the UNSC.
• Finland’s economy relies heavily on exports which underlines the importance of open markets for our well-being. We believe in liberal and open international trading system and urge speedy conclusion of the delayed Doha negotiations. In parallel with the WTO negotiations , we support EU’s efforts to conclude FTAs with important trading partners in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and Gulf regions as well as in Latin America and with Canada. We support ever-stronger Trans-Atlantic economic co-operation with the US.
• We are heartened by EU’s recent efforts to enhance strategic partnerships with important third countries, particularly with Russia and with the major emerging economies. The full potential of these relations should be exploited, and these new partners should be anchored, where possible, to European standards and norms.
• In the EU/Russia context specifically, we underline the need to conclude the negotiations on Russia’s accession to the WTO as soon as possible, to agree on the objective of visa liberalization and on the road map leading thereto and to intensify co-operation with Russia on issues of foreign and security policy.
• We support the peace process in the Middle East and encourage the parties not to give up their direct talks. Finnish peace-keepers may soon return to South-Lebanon. We share the international community’s concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program and contribute fully to adopted international sanctions.
• Finland is fully committed to developing further the European Security and Defence Policy. Tight budgetary limits should encourage EU countries to co-operate more closely e.g. in the field of defence material procurement and maintenance. Co-operation between EU and NATO should be strengthened. We acknowledge the increasing threats of terrorism targeting Europe and are fully committed to effective EU-wide co-operation in order to block any terrorist schemes.
• We continue to believe that the EU must speak strongly and clearly about human rights abuses in third countries. But to be credible, we must keep our own house and backyard in good order in terms of human rights. One case in point is the discrimination and miserable living conditions which characterize the Roma populations in several EU member states.
• “Dignified foreign policy” is the label that my Foreign Minister Mr. Stubb has wanted to attach to our approach to issues of human rights, democracy and rule of law in other countries. My understanding is that this is very close to what we have heard from William Hague regarding the position of the Coalition on these matters.
• The global negotiations aimed at curbing climate change should be continued with vigour. EU must be at the forefront of these efforts, but we do not consider that the Copenhagen outcome or later pledges of other parties would warrant the raising of EU’s emissions cut target unilaterally from 20 to 30 % by 2020. In order to make progress, also other alternatives falling between 20 and 30 % should be analyzed by the Commission. Most urgently, we should fullfil the pledges that were made in Copenhagen regarding short-term financing of environmental improvements in the developing world.
• Regarding EU’s enlargement, our short-term goal is to keep all on-going accession processes (Western Balkans, Turkey, Iceland) in motion and in progress. All candidates should advance on the road towards accession according to their merits. Turkey is a rising power in the Euro-Asian region, and the EU membership option is the best available means for the EU to have an influence on Turkey’s future orientation. According to our Government’s recent White Paper (on Finland’s EU policy), we hope that all Nordic countries could be members of the EU in the 2020s.
• Many current problems in various international contexts would be alleviated if the question of divided Cyprus would find a reasonable resolution. Thus, we support all efforts to settle that long-standing problem. It would be in the interest of not only all Cypriots but also of the EU and the region more broadly.
• In the internal EU contexts our strongest interests at the moment concern the intensification of economic policy co-ordination within the Union, particularly within the Eurozone. We are in favour of very ambitous steps forward in this regard, including the introduction of an effective system of sanctions to underpin any future co-ordination mechanism. If Treaty changes prove indispensable in order to implement an enhanced system of economic policy coordination and crisis management, we will not stand in the way of such a reform. We are also in favour of increased co-ordination of EU member states’ tax policies.
• Regarding EU’s budget, Finland - being a net contributor – does not wish to see a rise in the budget’s total value. Apart from that, our interests relate mainly to the simplification of EU’s revenue system: we would support a system which clearly reflects the GNPs of the member states. New EU taxes are in our view politically not advisable. Regarding the EU budget’s contents and composition, we still have special needs regarding our agriculture and sparsely-populated Northern and Eastern regions which need support. Stronger emphasis on forward-looking expenditures such as those on science, technology and innovations should in any case characterize future EU budgets.
• EU must improve its global competitiveness, which highlights the importance of the on-going work on the so-called Europe 2020 –strategy. We need progress in the further development of EU’s internal market. For example, there is an urgent need to bring the sectors of digital economy under the liberal internal market rules. This requires progress in such fields as intellectual property, internet-based trading, free access to public data sources and effective European patent system.
• Regarding free movement of people within the EU, our ambition is to reach a situation, in the 2020s at the latest, where it is as easy for EU citizens to move within the EU as it is within their individual home countries.
• Finnish economy is likely to grow 2 % in 2010 and just under 3 % in 2011. Fiscal policy continues to be growth-supporting at least until the end of this year. Finland’s public finances are improving but will remain moderately – 1,4 % of the GNP – in deficit. Unemployment is still high, about 8 %, but it never reached the dramatic two-digit figures that were foreshadowed when the financial crisis struck in 2008-2009. Inflation and interests rates are low, and consumer confidence is high in Finland at the moment.
• We recognize the key role that G-20 plays in the global economic crisis management and co-ordination, although we are not individually a member of G-20. Therefore, we underscore the importance of open and effective EU co-ordination before all G-20 Summits. The current focus of G-20’s work (reforms designed to remedy weaknesses of the international financial system, exchange rate issues and availability of key raw materials) seems well-founded.
Then: Q & A