Finnish presidency

Around this time last year, I had devoted my article to Tony Blair's speech to the European Parliament, on the eve of the UK's assumption of the EU Presidency. It was a notable speech which had sought to highlight some key questions concerning the future of Europe. This same theme has been taken up again, in an analogous situation, by Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland, which has taken over the EU Presidency to the end of the year.

It is a debate which needs to be relaunched. Only a few weeks after Blair's speech, the terrorist attack on the London Underground had deviated the intended thrust of the British Presidency and the focus shifted to more immediate concerns such as better co-ordination in the fight against terrorism.

In the subsequent months, all the attention was taken up by the question of finding a solution concerning the Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013. A compromise agreement was first reached within the EU Council, at the end of the British Presidency, and this was followed up by an inter-institutional agreement between the Council, Commission and Parliament during the Austrian Presidency. Now that the budget question has been decided, it is again possible to reopen the debate on longer-term issues.

When the question of the future of Europe is mentioned, it is almost inevitable that the subject is, first and foremost, linked to the negative outcome of the referenda in France and in the Netherlands. This is understandable, since the deliberation concerning the ratification of the proposed European Constitution has been stalled ever since the voters in France and Holland rejected the Constitution.

However, it would be a serious misrepresentation to focus only on this facet. Especially when one remembers that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, effectively giving birth to what is today the European Union. In the words of Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström, who has launched a logo competition to mark the anniversary: "Fifty years of peaceful co-operation and growing prosperity and security in Europe is really something to celebrate. It is also an excellent occasion to discuss what we expect from the EU in the future, for our children and generations to come."

Matti Vanhanen developed a similar theme. He reflected on a recent visit to Croatia where most of the people he met were very clear in their mind that joining the EU would provide the best possible assurance that they and their children would not have to experience war again. It is a paradox, Vanhanen commented, that while the fundamental justification for the existence of the EU remains the achievement and preservation of peace and security, this link seems to become obscured once peace and security have been achieved, since they are then taken for granted.

In Vanhanen's view, this is why it is essential that the EU must be able to demonstrate, to its citizens, that it is both necessary and beneficial in other manners, over and above the basic question of peace and security. Otherwise the Union could face a legitimacy problem if its citizens are not convinced about the relevance of what the EU is doing to address their particular concerns and aspirations. What stands foremost in their minds at the moment is not the threat of war but the fear of global competition. Citizens must be able to recognise that the EU is influencing their lives for the better.

In the Finnish Prime Minister's words: "The EU must prove that it can work for the future of its citizens. (To achieve this) it must focus on the fundamentals and do so effectively" so as to show that it can deliver more added value than each member state could achieve acting alone. "We cannot afford to linger while the fate of the Constitutional Treaty is decided; (the EU) must start improving its efficiency immediately". Action must go hand-in-hand with deliberation.

Hence, while the Finnish Parliament will soon take a decision on the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty to highlight the fact that the 'reflection period' on this subject is now over; the programme of the Finnish presidency clearly establishes a 'twin-track' approach. Again quoting Vanhanen: "At the same time that we bring the merely passive reflection period (on the EU Constitution) to a close and start discussing how to proceed with it, we will improve the way the Union functions on the basis of the existing Treaties." This will mean concentrating on improving the ways in which the Union functions with the objective of delivering concrete results even in the short term.

From this perspective, the programme of the Finnish presidency highlights, in particular, the objective of enhancing competitiveness within the EU. The principal challenge is to identify the basis for stronger economic growth in Europe. In Vanhanen's words, Finland's success has been based on "innovation, quality of work and productivity" in conjunction with a "well-functioning social protection system." Which has led the Finnish Prime Minister to make the following strong declaration in front of the EU Parliament: "This combination - a competitive Europe that is strong in social terms will be our strength, also in the future, and we will hold on to it. This is the European model."

Finland joined the EU 11 years ago and is particularly positive on enlargement, which it considers to have been a success story. It can be shown that the economies of both the new but also the original member states have benefited from enlargement. According to the Finnish presidency, the EU must keep its doors open to new members. However, this must be based on a clear understanding that membership criteria have to be met. The accession timetable for Bulgaria and Romania will be decided during the Finnish presidency.

This is one deadline which was established well in advance of Finland's presidency. As Vanhanen acknowledged, each EU presidency must contend with and take on board issues inherited from the preceding presidencies, to which, however, it can also add priorities reflecting particular issues which the incumbent presidency believes need to be promoted. In Finland's case, one such subject is the improved relations and closer economic ties with Russia, its big neighbour to the East. This aspect is to be addressed within the wider context of external relations in general and the Union's neighbourhood policy perspective.

The Finnish Prime Minister was particularly upbeat in underlying his optimism concerning the future and in the ability of his country to provide the EU with the right leadership through the next six months. "I believe that the problems the Union faces can be overcome. The Union (has shown itself to be) capable of making important decisions, but we should be able to make them more quickly and more resolutely; we need more political will. I promise that Finland will tackle these questions during our Presidency."