New year speech by the President Tarja Halonen on 1 January 2006

Fellow citizens, thousands of schoolchildren are enjoying a well-earned Christmas holiday. We Finns as a nation have received good marks during the past year too, as Finland has continued to perform with excellence in international comparisons.

President Tarja Halonen

Europe and the rest of the world talk about the Finnish model and want to learn from it. However, a good report does not mean that there is no room for improvement.

The increased prosperity in our country has not been fairly distributed. Income differentials are growing, and a new kind of poverty and social exclusion has emerged. Last year, the number of employed persons in Finland increased by about 30,000. Despite all our efforts, unemployment is still too high. We must take better care of social justice.

The fundamental structure of our welfare society is sound. Investing resources in education, health care, social security and the environment is safeguarding our common welfare. We must also ensure that everything functions efficiently. We must not just adapt to changes in the world; we must be ready to influence the direction of those changes. Isolation is not an option that would contribute to Finland’s security and the welfare of Finnish citizens.

We should embrace challenges as opportunities. I believe that we all want Finnish work to prosper in the world. Using quality as a competitive factor requires creativity and expertise: a full range of education from comprehensive school to university or vocational education. Learning must also be made a more integral part of working life. People who already have a job must be able to learn more. The skills must kept up to date. This is a major challenge for our working life in the near future, and it affects factories and offices, government agencies and health centres — the whole of working life. I am glad that there are already signs of this new approach being accepted. This will translate into better results and better job satisfaction.

With internationalisation, some of our companies are growing and transferring their operations abroad. I hope that these companies will nevertheless maintain strong ties with Finland and thus would help us to strengthen international partnership and cooperation network. Finland needs more entrepreneurs. New jobs are being created mostly in small and medium-sized enterprises. Thanks to our concerted efforts, an increasing number of Finns are becoming entrepreneurs.

Fellow citizens,

Fair international regulations are a crucial part of Finland’s strategy for success. A fairer world is a safer world. The UN has approved fairer globalization and decent work as its objectives. Achieving these objectives will be in all our interests.

Finland has established and strengthened her international standing in recent years. We enjoy excellent relations with all our neighbours, and we have found our place in the enlarged European Union. Political, economic and other human interaction with our neighbours has become livelier and deeper. During the year, I have had several opportunities to meet and talk to national leaders in Sweden, Estonia and Russia.

We need interaction beyond Europe too. We have a good and smoothly running relationship with the United States, which appreciates the responsibility shown in Finland’s foreign policy and the stability it brings. We have also increased our cooperation with emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil. We also aim to develop trade relations with our development aid partners.

Besides bilateral relations, Finland is an active and responsible member of European and world organizations. The UN will remain the cornerstone of our foreign policy.

The European Union is facing a period of serious introspection. The proposal for a new Constitutional Treaty was turned down in referenda in France and the Netherlands. This was not, however, a vote of no confidence in the European Union or European cooperation. But the reflection period is needed and we also need to find new solutions together. The Finnish Parliament will be debating the matter on the basis of a report submitted by the Government.

The EU is a community of like-minded countries and nations. The EU must be developed both as a community of Member States and as a community of citizens. More will be achieved through cooperation than alone. It is important to increase citizens’ confidence in the European Union and its work.

Finland will be assuming the Presidency of the European Union in the second half of the new year. We have made careful preparations for the task ahead. We want to promote security, economic growth, employment, social justice and the wellbeing of people and the environment. I believe that the Finnish Presidency will be useful for our cooperation with neighbouring areas.

The international standing of the European Union has increased significantly in the past few years. The EU is a high-profile and highly respected actor in fields such as development cooperation and crisis management, and can help prevent conflicts around the world. Finland and Sweden have traditionally taken the initiative in the development of the crisis management capacity of the EU. We have coherently stressed the importance of both civilian and military crisis management.

This year, the Union will be debating how to improve joint operations by civilian and military personnel in crisis situations. One example of this is the increased participation of police officers in crisis management. I believe that Finland can make a valuable contribution in this and that experiences gained abroad could benefit us too.

Fellow citizens,

The tsunami that occurred in Southeast Asia a year ago caused great destruction and grief, which extended even to us here in Finland: 179 Finns died and about 250 were injured in the disaster. The grief and suffering will linger for a long time.

Many Finns have participated in different ways both at home and abroad in helping those who have been caused suffering by this natural catastrophe. Aid has been generous and the desire to help unusually strong. Repairing and alleviating the damage caused by the disaster will take a long time and entail a great deal of work. I would like to express my condolences to those who have suffered and my deepest gratitude to all those who have taken part in the rescue and humanitarian tasks.

There is a lot to be learnt from the tsunami and humanitarian activity. The experiences obtained have already been used in the preparations for national and international emergencies and in improving crisis management. There will be a constant need for our assistance in different parts of the world.

During the past year we remembered the end of the Second World War and the Lapland War, and we paid our respects to those who defended our country. These generations are largely responsible for the foundation of our present welfare too. It is part of the trust between the generations that we guarantee a human and dignified old age to the elderly among us.

Changes in the population structure and the ageing of the population will be a major challenge in the decades to come. Preparations have already been undertaken for this. We have reduced the government debt and cut the rise in pension costs by, for example, reforming the employment pension system. We are not building welfare today at the expense of future generations.

People are worried about their own old-age security, i.e. treatment and care, and that of their nearest and dearest. The ageing generations need more services, and they have a right to them. It is a good thing that life expectancy has increased. The elderly are important not only to their families but to the whole of society. They have experience and knowledge that is a valuable legacy for younger generations.

Fellow citizens,

The new year is one of the most important anniversary years in our history. June will see the centenary of the passing of a new Parliament Act and Electoral Act for Finland and the creation of a unicameral Parliament.

Before the reform the right to vote was the privilege of just a narrow section of the population. Few men and none of the women were entitled to vote. With the reform, the number of those entitled to vote increased enormously. Finnish women were the first in Europe to be given the vote and to become eligible to stand in national elections. This has had a major impact on our society as a whole.

The Presidential election will take place now, in January. Participating in elections is always important, but in this anniversary year that celebrates the right to vote I particularly hope that all of us will make good use of this right.

Finally, I would like, on behalf of myself and my husband, to express my thanks for your cooperation and for your contact with me on numerous occasions. Your support and interest in the handling of common issues has been important. I would also like to express my thanks for your confidence during the past six years. I wish you all a happy new year 2006.

the President Tarja Halonen