Address by Foreign Minister Urmas Paet - Significance of the Northern Dimension

At the conference THE RENEWED NORTHERN DIMENSION, Tallinn, Estonia 9 June 2006


Dear colleagues,
Good friends,

I, also, am very glad to greet all of you here in Tallinn.

Dealing with, and giving meaning to, the Northern Dimension is, at this point, in many ways, a very topical activity, and is also becoming one that will remain a constantly timely commitment – by now, two Northern Dimension Action Plans have run their course; in the European Union, a new Financial Perspective has been agreed upon; Russia and other Partners in the region have been invited to fully participate in the formulation of further cooperation; by next year, we will have to have reached an agreement concerning new basic cooperation documents. Finland, the initiator of the Northern Dimension, is, again, about to assume the EU Presidency. I see as one of this conference’s functions being the focusing of our attention upon the highlights of the following years in such a manner, that the meaning of the Northern Dimension would be more comprehensible for all participants, and that the carrying out of activities in the spirit of the Northern Dimension would become a more natural way of functioning. Therefore, it is definitely essential to know where, for us, lies the significance of the Northern Dimension. I hope, quite selfishly, that the Estonian public, and all interested parties, will, with the help of this conference, get a better understanding of the Northern Dimension as a practical form of cooperation.

The basic idea for the Northern Dimension is older than Estonia’s, or Finland’s, membership in the European Union. If, at first, attention was focussed upon adapting cooperation to an environment in which the EU was undergoing regional enlargement, and new bases and models for cooperation were being created, then now, the time for these changes is behind us. The logic of the Northern Dimension is centred upon the cooperation of the European Union, Member States, and Partners with Russia, especially its north-western region. By now, things have developed to the stage where the Member States of the European Union have reached an agreement with Russia, concerning extensive cooperation, in the form of Plans of Action for the so-called Four Common Spaces. These Plans of Action encompass everything from external security to cultural and youth cooperation. The European Union and Russia have found plenty of spheres in which cooperation is justified. And yet, there is no doubt, that, at the same time, there is still reason, for the nations of this region, to also develop the Northern Dimension.

If the EU and Russia are developing extensive partnership to deal with global security problems, international trade, the fight against terrorism, and numerous other spheres, then, for the nations in our region, the Northern Dimension means the cooperative solving, with Russia, along with the active participation of the European Union and other Partners, of questions concerning the immediate neighbourhood. The Northern Dimension is, at the same time, an expression of the cooperation between the European Union and Russia at the regional and cross-border level. The Northern Dimension specifies and promotes this in accordance with the needs and capabilities of the participants.

I would even claim that the European Union and Russia have several tangents of strategic cooperation, like working together in the field of satellite navigation, where direct results will probably not be achieved overnight, or even after some time, since these are actually long-term investments in our future. But the conducting of neighbourly relations, as well as everyday cooperation, which are to be presumed, since the European Union and Russia are, in our region, side-by-side, require everyday attention, that cannot wait for the results of strategic projects. Being next door to Russia’s north-western region, creates for us, in the European Union, unique opportunities for the development of welfare and relations by means of mutually beneficial enterprises, and also, potential opportunities that we must be prepared to exploit on a long-term basis. One of the most essential aspects of Northern Dimension cooperation is to learn how to work together with Partners from a culturally different judicial and administrative environment.

Of direct opportunities, it is simplest to bring forth economic ones. The growth of economic relations between the European Union, the countries of other regions, and Russia is creating noticeable activity in the economic space of the Baltic Sea region. We can all, obviously, agree, that all the states in the region gain from this. And it was easy to predict the growth of these relations, and also the growth of their profitability for Northern Europe, after the European Union’s enlargement. But the development of economic relations also saddles us with the obligation to deal, much more than before, with essential regional questions, so as to ensure sustainable development.

This challenge has been met, within the framework of the Northern Dimension, with the establishment of two very timely partnerships.
Within the context of increased economic activity, it is natural, that the Environmental Partnership, which was the first one to be created, deals mostly with those issues of protecting the environment that, encompassing the cooperation of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Russia, as well as regional and local organisations, help to protect the vulnerable environment within our latitudes. Just the protecting of our common Baltic Sea, from the new, damaging and threatening influences, is such an enormous task, that coping with it requires the good will and cooperation of all those involved. And good will alone will not suffice. Good ideas are also needed, and enough partners, in the form of financial institutions, to carry out truly large-scale projects. We have a good example of successful cooperation within the framework of this Partnership, in the form of the St. Petersburg city sewage processing plants, and I hope that this will continue. The Partnership in Public health and social well-being has been founded in the sound understanding that no border can prevent communicable or life-style related diseases. Those phenomena have cross-border nature. And the counter- measures will be effective only in broad cooperation. From the very beginning Estonia has put emphasis on preventive measures against the spread of HIV. The objective is together with the Russian authorities to advance the coherence of the methods of preventive measures, enhance expert’s dialogue and education in public health in order to change the attitudes towards the risks of HIV and towards preventive measures against it.

Estonia has also other priorities in the Northern Dimension and thus in the EU-Russia relations. After the accession of Estonia to the EU, the Estonian-Russian relations became part of EU-Russia relations. Firm, comprehensive and long-term development of EU-Russia relations is the objective of Estonia. It is in our interests to have developing and co-operative Russia as our neighbor. The Northern Dimension provides additional opportunities for bringing the relations forward. Recently, on May 25th the Government discussed possible cooperation projects with Russia in the framework of the ND. The discussion focused on projects in the following areas: transport, water management, preventing and fighting oil pollution, health care, cooperation in youth and education matters.

Among the environmental issues of the Northern Dimension it is certainly inevitable to turn more attention to the increasing of capabilities in fighting oil pollution in the Baltic Sea. Considering that already today about 100 million tons of oil and oil products are shipped in the Gulf of Finland, and this figure continues to grow, more effective methods to fight possible pollution should be looked for both by individual countries and in partnership between the countries. The international cooperation procedures in fighting oil accidents need to be rehearsed just as well.

The Baltic Sea is not our sole border waterway. The protection of transboundary waters like Lake Peipsi and Pihkva would inconceivable without close cooperation. Fortunately a lot has been done in this area already. The compilation of the Estonian-Russian Joint Water Management Program of Lake Peipsi is a commendable step, but its implementation is a effort of much higher magnitude. I hope it will deserve enough attention from officials of Estonia, Russia and Commission just as well. In the drafting of the Program Estonian and Russian officials of various levels of administration, and the NGO Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation obtained precious experience that can be made use of in other cooperation projects.

The expectations of economic growth, competitiveness and standard of living are high in our region. Many preconditions support these expectations. But there are also factors hindering growth, which have to be dealt with in good time. The Northern Dimension are is vast in territory, sparsely inhabited and quite far from other centres in Europe. This fact determines the need to constantly develop transport communications both within the region and with the neighborhood. The Narva road bridge is a well known bottle-neck between Estonia and Russia. It seized to satisfy the need for transport flows a long time ago. The preparatory work for the construction of a new bridge has started, and now we need swift cooperation in the best spirit of the Northern Dimension for the new bridge to be completed not too far in the future.
A Partnership in Transport and Logistics has been proposed as a new idea in developing the Northern Dimension. I expect this idea to be thoroughly studied by the experts, in order to assess how to use this tool in the best interests of developing the Northern Dimension region.


Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Northern Dimension will obtain new political framework for the coming years. The Northern Dimension Policy Framework Document is in an active stage of negotiations at the moment and will hopefully be agreed upon during Finnish chairmanship. The sincere will of the parties to achieve the best possible outcome is evident. It is my sincere wish that the final document should contain as far-reaching and explicit goals and priorities as possible, should be tangible enough to implement and for the public to comprehend. The European Commission has done a remarkable job to reach this objective.

The Commission has a key role in the future development of the Northern Dimension. It is obvious that although there is no specific financing instrument for the ND, the success of numerous regional and cross-border activities will depend on the attitude of the whole and first of all of the Commission. In many areas of cooperation the coordinative role of the Commission is crucial to secure the compatibility between the objectives of the EU and the goals of regional and cross-border activities. And certainly it is the Commission, who is the best institution to provide the parties with adequate information on flexible ways to finance the regional and cross-border projects of the Northern Dimension.
In addition to that, the Commission’s role is indispensable in another aspect. The principles of transparency and inclusiveness have characterized the spirit of the Northern Dimension from the very beginning. Providing information on the activities and projects of the ND should remain the task of the Commission also in the future. The more so, because the ND information system made available by the Commission, has proved to be an effective tool. Equally the Commission is in the best position to draft the reports on the implementation of the Northern Dimension.


Dear friends,

Our northern neighbors in Finland will be in a key position as presidency of the EU in the next half year. It is essential to find consensus on the ND substance and framework during that time to make the ND function fruitfully for the benefit of the parties also in the future.

I am convinced that my good colleague Erkki has plenty of ideas on that account and also a lot of energy to put them into practice. That is why I thank you for attention and I can assure you that we are looking forward with great interest to the Finnish Presidency and we will provide support wherever we can.

Thank you.