Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-05-Speech-2-091"
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Mr President, President of the Commission, Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to thank you warmly for your invitation to come and speak here in the European Parliament. I also thank you, too, Mr President, for your kind words of introduction. We last met during your visit to Finland in early June, and you are welcome to our country at any time.
Both acting to prevent conflict and crisis management itself have become more important than ever for the Union. Allow me to wax nostalgic for a moment. When I was Foreign Affairs Minister for Finland, my Swedish colleague, Lena Hjelm Wallén, and I launched an initiative to develop the EU’s crisis management capability, though we certainly did not dare to hope for such a speedy development. Things turned out otherwise, however. The initiative was adopted with the Treaty of Amsterdam and today the cornerstone of the Union’s fast evolving crisis management policy is military and civil development and their successful coordination. Having wide-ranging influence is the surest path to the settlement of conflicts.
For example, sending an EU crisis management contingent to the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the UN has already proven necessary, as when the results of the first round of the elections were made known violent clashes erupted. Hopefully, the situation will now remain stable, so that the campaigning and second round of elections can proceed peacefully and in a way that respects the democratic process. After the elections, the country must quickly move on to the reconstruction and development phase. The EU is already now working to reform the country’s security sector. The European Union is also working hard to resolve the difficult situation in Darfur. The Union is the biggest supporter of the African Union’s African Mission in Sudan peacekeeping operation. Decisions regarding the reinforcement of the peacekeeping operation and transitioning it to one under the control of the UN need to be implemented fast, because the human suffering in the region must not be allowed to continue any longer.
There are thus ever-growing expectations with regard to international action on the part of the European Union. A unified Union is a strong player, as the situation in Lebanon has demonstrated. The EU has been active in endeavouring to find a political solution, first in establishing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and now in its comprehensive implementation. It is, however, vital that the parties involved will show commitment to its implementation. The Union’s determined action has strengthened confidence in the EU as a peace-broker in the region. We obviously cannot succeed in this alone, but the European Union’s role may be highly significant.
The Member States of the European Union have taken a major role in the UN’s extended UNIFIL operation, which lends support to the frail ceasefire and attempts at establishing lasting peace in the region as a whole. The decision to take a responsible role at the extraordinary General Affairs and External Relations Council on 25 August was a turning point in reinforcing the role of UNIFIL. The Member States were able to take some decisions that were very tough in the international context. They are committed to sending approximately 7 000 peacekeeping troops to support the UNIFIL operation. The entire UN operation is being headed by us Europeans, first by France and then by Italy. It is important, however, that the countries that send troops to support the operation are not just countries in the European Union. This way the parties involved will have much greater confidence in the operation’s success.
The situation in Lebanon is complex, and is not one that just concerns security policy: it is also a political, an economic and a social problem. We have to support the Lebanese Government, both with regard to extending its authority throughout Lebanon and its taking responsibility for the reconstruction process. To improve the country’s difficult humanitarian situation, the total amount in aid granted by the European Commission and the Member States is now more than EUR 300 million. The conference in Stockholm late last week on the humanitarian situation in Lebanon, and in the Palestinian territories too, was a real success. The amount of aid given and the number of new aid commitments have been substantial. In addition to granting direct humanitarian aid, the Union must play a major role in the reconstruction work and in repairing the damage done to the environment.
Lasting peace in the Middle East will require a solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The EU had a central role in establishing the road map, and now too the Union must show initiative in promoting a comprehensive plan for peace. Everyone has to commit to the existence of two secure and viable countries. Trust also needs to be built at the level of civil society and not just between governments, which in itself is obviously important. I believe that if women are closely involved in the peace process, the chances for a lasting solution will increase. I have already worked with the UN’s women’s organisation UNIFEM, which supports dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women. We will also be raising this issue during the forthcoming UN General Assembly session.
Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow you will be discussing the Middle East in depth in plenary. It is vitally important that in the future the European Union shows determination in establishing stability and security throughout the Middle East. The Middle East is our neighbour. Representatives of the EU have demonstrated initiative in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran must comply with the UN Security Council’s resolution and now actually seize the opportunity for genuine dialogue. In the weeks and months to come, the EU must persist with its programme of active and wide-ranging diplomacy. The United States of America will be a key partner for the EU in this, not forgetting the other permanent members of the Security Council.
The fate of Russia and that of the rest of Europe have been interwoven for centuries. Today, Russia is a strategic partner of the EU. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that its European choice is an irrevocable one. Broadly-based cooperation, ranging from trade to human rights, will benefit both parties and will also lend support to Russia’s democratic development and stability.
Prominent on the agenda in recent times have been questions of energy. It is good that the EU should be aiming for a common view on energy, even if choice of energy sources is the business of the individual nation. Most of the issues, however, are the sort where cooperation is vitally important. Energy policy and the EU’s external policy need to be more tightly interwoven, so that the Union’s external relations can help guarantee reliability of supply. In my opinion, it is in this area that the Union and Russia can very clearly establish a positive interdependency. This energy dialogue between the EU and Russia must be built on trust. We need to try and identify common interests.
We must all, furthermore, strive to combat climate change by cutting emissions, saving energy, developing cleaner technologies and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. After all, we know that current energy resources are not limitless. The EU must also aspire to broadly based cooperation with Russia in the area of the environment. There is a comprehensive Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between the Union and Russia and additional roadmaps covering four jointly agreed areas. These are the economy, freedom, justice and security, external security, and research, education and culture. The last of these is by no means a less important area of cooperation, even though these issues are not very often in the public eye. For example, student exchange programmes and learning about each other’s culture are very practical ways of getting to know one another better.
The directly elected Members represent an important part of the democratic process both in the European Union and in its Member States. Your powers of influence are considerable: you have a chance effectively to promote the aims of the entire Union in your day-to-day work. The Finnish Presidency wants to work very closely with the European Parliament. This week several of the ministers in our Government will be here, ready and willing to engage in debate with you, and I believe that the discussions will be very useful.
The term of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement between the Union and Russia expires at the end of next year. It will be our aim at the EU-Russia Summit in November to agree with Russia on the start of talks to renew the agreement arrangements. I also believe that when the Northern Dimension is reorganised as a joint policy between the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland it will make for closer relations between us and these partner countries. The Northern Dimension’s main focus is on environmental cooperation and social and health issues.
Union enlargement has enhanced stability and security in Europe and has benefited all the Member States economically, the old ones as well as the new. Successful enlargement also reinforces the EU’s international role. I think that the European Union must be open in the future to all European countries that meet the conditions of membership. Developments in the countries of Central Europe, in Turkey, in Croatia and in the Western Balkans are a clear indication of the power of the EU membership perspective as an incentive for reform, although, of course, the fundamental aim of the changes must be each country’s desire to improve the ordinary lives and security of its own people. The people will value membership on the basis of their everyday experiences.
At the European Council in December there will be a general debate on enlargement. It is then that together we will look at how the enlargement process should be taken forward. You know very well that in June the European Council held a debate on the Union’s absorption capacity. The result in the end was that no new membership criteria should be set, but the existing criteria should be strictly adhered to. It is in the interests of both the European Union and the countries that aspire to membership that accession to the Union should only occur when the applicant country can assume responsibility for the obligations that come with membership and fulfil the conditions of membership. We, on the other hand, must respect the promises which we have made to the applicant countries and ensure that we are able to absorb new Member States.
We should also remember what the list of requirements does not contain. We have common values, but we are not aiming at establishing one culture. On the contrary, cultural diversity is a source of Europe’s richness and strength. Varying political views are a natural part of Europe. You and your political groups are a unique example of political party cooperation that extends across national borders. A multiform Union needs multidimensional parliamentarism.
This has been a long speech, and I know that we all have a busy autumn ahead, both you in Parliament and us in the country to hold the presidency and the other Member States too. This week Finland is hosting the ASEM Summit between the EU and Asian countries. ASEM has already in practice developed into a form of cooperation between two regional groups and working with an integrated Union has also encouraged countries in Asia to engage in the closer two-way coordination of preparation for issues to be discussed. I believe that it has become clear to all of us that ‘Global Challenges – Joint Responses’ is a principle and objective that we all share, and it is also ASEM’s motto.
To conclude, I would like say that there were two good reasons for my journey here to Strasbourg. You are one of them: the first reason why I am here. I will confess to you the other reason: I also intend to pay a visit to the Council of Europe. I hope by doing this I will be lending practical support to that notion of broadly based European cooperation that I myself have proposed here to you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you all and take up your valuable time, and I sincerely wish you the very best during this autumn’s parliamentary term and a successful outcome to your endeavours.
The importance of European cooperation and integration to promote peace, stability and prosperity in our continent is obvious, and the results are striking. Our efforts are based on a common set of values. They are freedom, democracy, a respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and a commitment to the principles of the rule of law. Each Member State must implement these values in its own way, but together we often achieve better results. A united European Union is also a much stronger player internationally than any one single Member State.
The European Union’s international role has strengthened significantly in recent years. The EU is a visible and important actor in matters ranging from development to crisis management. More and more, global threats to security are not of a military nature. Climate change, pollution, natural disasters, contagious diseases and economic uncertainty are threats which we cannot prepare for using military means. That is why we try to promote multilateralism and reach international agreements to combat the threats and dangers that are common to all of us.
International crime is a great concern to us all. Close cooperation between Member States to combat the threat of terrorism is vitally important, as is effective cooperation with third countries. If there is to be security on a broad scale and if it is to be endorsed globally, it needs to be linked to human rights and development. The European Union’s security strategy is based on this premise, which has been adopted by the United Nations. We can have an influence on the creation of a more just world and the realisation of the UN’s objectives for the millennium. It is one of the strengths of the Union that it has at its disposal a wide range of resources, from humanitarian aid to its policies on agriculture, trade, development and the environment.
The EU’s development policy can also be seen as part of its security policy. The EU is the developing countries’ biggest development cooperation and trading partner, and is the world’s biggest contributor of development aid. I hope and believe that the EU institutions work together closely to reach a decision on financing for development in order to guarantee an uninterrupted flow of EU financing and, in particular, diverse action on the part of the EU from the start of 2007 also.
There is a link between development and trade. It is not always an automatically positive one: it requires political will and know-how. This way trade can be made to boost economic growth, the reduction in poverty and social development in the developing countries. The developing countries themselves, however, must also be prepared to implement national reforms, promote good government and eradicate corruption. Access to markets alone will not necessarily be enough for fairer globalisation: special action will also be needed to support the poorest countries in order to help them to function more successfully. In October a joint sitting will be held for both Ministers for Trade and Ministers for Development with the aim of achieving a strong commitment on the part of the EU to the World Trade Organisation’s ‘aid for trade’ recommendations and their speedy application in practice.
The matter of the cross-border movement of people also needs to be addressed with exactly the same wide-ranging approach. I believe that this issue is being discussed in Finland at the Lahti Summit. I also believe that we will be ready to go forward with decision-making in December.
Questions of human rights are a delicate issue. We have agreed that they need to be legally and ethically binding, but it is a very challenging task to endorse them with practical policies. The European Union’s human rights policy must nevertheless be founded on exactly the same rules in different parts of the world. Fortunately, we also have good partners, mainly, of course, in the shape of the United Nations. In Europe, an important partner for us is the Council of Europe, whose expertise we should be able to exploit more effectively. It is still an important objective for the EU to become a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. A report by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, contains excellent proposals for closer cooperation between the two organisations, but we have to work to implement the contents of this report."@en1
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