New Year’s Speech: Finland’s challenges are economy and improving employment
According to President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, stimulating the economy, improving employment and the retirement of the baby-boomers are challenges for Finland. “This means higher pension costs but also a chance to reform the structure of employment and economy. This requires skill and the ability to cooperate”, President Halonen said in her New Year’s Speech.
Recovery may take longer due to the structure of Finland's economy. Joint efforts are needed and it is especially important that young people to be able to study and find jobs. “This is a basic matter for young people's own lives and for building society's future. It is an alarming fact that the unemployment rate among young people is three times as high as the figure among people over the age of 25.”
President Halonen stressed that Finland is well-educated and self-renewing society which has good basic structures. “In many business sectors, however, more research, innovation and quality development would have been needed already before. We must now work together to increase business diversity and strengthen competitiveness. We must pay special attention to small and medium-size enterprises, which have a large impact on employment.”
The future of the nation must be built on sustainable development, according to President Halonen. The demand for environmental technology is rising around the world. “Finland already has expertise in this field, which can become a new important source of income for us.”
”We should also have the courage to set the objective of high employment in Finland. To achieve this, we need effective education, employment and social policy as well as economic policy. This calls for all parties' joint resolve and cooperation.”
Peace is a precious thing for Finns
According to President Halonen, examining the functioning of our Constitution could provide a basis for broader social discussion concerning values. “Genuine equality among citizens also demands respect for constitutional rights and the implementation of social justice”, President Halonen said. In recent years, public interest has focused mainly on the relative powers of the supreme organs of state. “The present Constitution has been in force for nearly 10 years and only one person has served as President during this time. I hope that more experience can be gained of the system before it is changed again.”
“It was a disappointment that the recent UN conference in Copenhagen could not reach a consensus on means to mitigate climate change”, the President said. “At the conference, Finland received international recognition for having promoted women's participation in sustainable development especially in the developing countries. Finland has considered this important both for equality and because climate change will have the most severe effects on the poorest people in the world, 70% of whom are women. Women are also a resource for necessary change.”
President Halonen emphasised that peace is the foundation for development and Finland is sharing responsibility in international crisis management. “It is important for military and civilian crisis management, development cooperation and humanitarian aid to be coordinated better than they presently are”.
“Peace is a precious thing for Finns. We have been able to enjoy it for a long time. We respect our war veterans' and reconstruction generation's sacrifices and tireless work for our country. Finland will also demonstrate this by commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Winter War in March.”