Prime Minister Vanhanen at a conference on the Northern Dimension in Hanasaari

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Nordic Region has contributed a great deal to Europe and the European Union. All of the Nordic Countries are integrated into Europe. Denmark, Finland and Sweden are EU members and Iceland and Norway belong to the European Economic Area. At the same time that the Nordic Region is integrating with the rest of Europe, Nordic features are also being incorporated more extensively into Europe.

As its name implies, the Nordic Region is located in the north. The concept of 'Nordic', however, is more specific. The region, extending from the Atlantic in the West to Russia in the East, is a part of Northern Europe that also represents a cultural area with a common history. These features influence the concepts of 'Nordic' and the 'Far North' throughout the world.

The Northern Dimension is a comprehensive policy framework for all of Northern Europe, East and West alike, committing both the EU and Russia to the prosperity and stability of the region.

At the same time as the Northern Dimension is making good progress, the various regional bodies in northern Europe are also working closer together to improve their division of labour. The Nordic Countries seek to create prosperity and stability through the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC), the Arctic Council (AC), etc.

Nordic co-operation increasingly takes place in the context of European co-operation. The Nordic Countries are not looking to form a permanent bloc in the EU, nor do they act as one. Yet, their societies are often used as examples of best practices, which in turn serve as the basis for European initiatives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It should not come as a surprise that Finland intends to steer Nordic co-operation within the Council of Ministers closer towards influencing EU policies. Finland finds it natural that the same items should appear on the agendas of both the Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU. In this way, the Nordic Countries may stay one step ahead on EU and EEA issues, both in terms of decision-making and practical implementation.

Under the new framework document, the Northern Dimension will develop towards a cohesive joint policy for the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland. Finland aims to build continuity between its recent Presidency of the European Union and its current chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers, with the aim of launching a long-term policy for the Northern Dimension based on its new framework document.

As you mentioned earlier Mr. Chairman, particular attention will be paid during our chairmanship to environmental issues, to challenges in the health and social services sector and to energy issues relating to the Northern Dimension. Finland will also seek to achieve pan-Nordic support for the objectives of the Northern Dimension on traffic and logistics issues.

We will focus on environment and nuclear safety within the framework of the partnership on environmental issues. In addition to major initiatives, small and medium-sized local-authority projects on the environment and energy efficiency will also be promoted.

Another priority in the Neighbouring Areas will be to use the partnership framework in the field of health and social welfare to prevent the spread of infectious and lifestyle-related diseases and the mitigation of social problems.

This year will see a number of events relating to the Northern Dimension being organised. In addition to major projects and guidelines, efforts will be made to initiate small and medium-sized projects.

Within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme for Russia and the Baltic States, Finland will inspire co-operation between citizens and authorities in the Neighbouring Areas through collaboration with the Nordic offices and diplomatic missions in Russia and the Baltic States.

During its chairmanship, Finland will seek to intensify co-operation on Northern Dimension projects between the Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic financial institutions, such as the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), the Nordic Project Fund (NOPEF) and Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO).

Mr. Chairman,

The Baltic Sea may well be the most polluted sea on our planet. The marine life is very vulnerable due to the low and variable salinity of the body of water. The lack of circulation creates lethal deposits of nutrients in the depths of the sea. Unfortunately, death and decay are increasingly spreading under the surface. For a few weeks every summer, toxic substances are released from the sea bed feeding excessive growth on the surface. The time has come to take action.

Finland’s objective is to involve all partners in closer co-operation in order to protect the Baltic Sea, for example through HELCOM, which is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area". Finland will also emphasise the importance of implementing the EU marine strategy; for example, the joint research programme of the Baltic Sea countries, BONUS-169, provides the opportunity to implement marine strategy by producing information that will later serve as the basis for all practical action taken.

In general, Finland will promote the Nordic policy of environmental protection, which considers opinions from various sectors. The need for a clear division of responsibilities between the EU and the countries along the Baltic Sea will also be highlighted. We are also aware of the strong inter-linkage between energy and climate issues.

Finland will clarify the role that the Nordic Council of Ministers will play in implementing crucial practical environmental measures. Shipbuilding, safety at sea and emissions caused by shipping are important issues for all of the Nordic Countries and these will have a direct impact on the Baltic Sea, the Northern Atlantic and the Barents Sea.

Finland will promote the Council of Ministers’ action plan for the Arctic and the environment sector’s Arctic strategy. Nordic methods of influencing and adapting to climate change and the Arctic Council’s Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) will also be taken into account.

During its chairmanships of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2007 and the Barents Euro Arctic Council in 2005–2007, Finland will seek to intensify collaboration between the two regional councils, especially on environmental policies, and to launch co-operation projects addressing climate issues.

Mr. Chairman,

The Nordic Countries have the most advanced multinational electricity markets in the world and are on the forefront of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy; this is beneficial for the energy policy.

It is a challenge to maintain this leading role. Last week, the EU Commission launched an ambitious energy strategy. The Nordic Countries are starting to analyze and discuss possible common interests and goals before decision-making occurs on the EU level.

As we all know, one of the problems, especially in the electricity markets, is to strike a good balance among both domestic and foreign supply, demand and transmission capacity.

The objective of the energy policy is to optimize the legal and political framework conditions so that investors make the right investments in time and consumers can obtain the energy they require from competitive markets when they need it and at fair and acceptable prices.

Nordic co-operation provides excellent opportunities to advance in the energy sector: the action plan that the Nordic Council approved in 2005 includes both electricity markets and sustainable energy, including renewables and energy efficiency, as core working sectors.

More extensive co-operation on energy efficiency is one of the potential win-win sectors for the Nordic Countries and their neighbors. The concretization of the Northern Dimension partnership in this sector, as accepted by the partners on the summit level, is one of the central challenges of the Finnish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In accordance with the aims of its overall chairmanship programme, Finland’s objectives in regional policy co-operation include the promotion of regional competitiveness and innovation, guaranteeing basic services for the population and the development of the Northern Dimension through the reinforcement of regional co-operation.

With regard to the latter, Finland will focus upon regional policy co-operation between the Nordic region and the Baltic States. We will improve the co-ordination of cross-border co-operation work supported by the EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

During our chairmanship, we will promote the cooperation programme for 2005–2008 and the cross-border strategy adopted at the end of 2005. Finland will continue the projects and measures launched by Norway in 2006. We will act in accordance with the general principles and organisational objectives of the Nordic Council of Ministers in regional policy co-operation. Finland will review the role of cross-border regional organisations in reducing border barriers and play an active role in ensuring the successful results.

Dear participants,

It has long been the goal of Nordic co-operation to increase contacts and co-operation with the Baltic States. The tangible outcomes so far have included the BEN project, which supports cross-border co-operation between the Baltic States; the database of regional development in the Baltic States established and maintained by Nordregio; and the in-service training of regional planners organised by Nordregio.

Closer co-operation is required in both the Norden Plus initiative, part of the regional policy cooperation programme, and the promotion of cross-border co-operation in and with the Baltic States and Russia.

Our aim is to initiate regular co-operation between authorities and establish contacts between the Nordic and Baltic authorities for regional development.

The new EU-financed programmes for regional co-operation will be launched in 2007; these programmes will continue the work of the 2000–2006 Interreg programmes. Under the new programme, the relationship of the Nordic cross-border co-operation bodies to the EU programme will partly change and their new role will be a central theme.

Mr. Chairman,

The Northern Dimension is a wide concept, not only geographically as it covers the vast and economically significant area of Northern Europe, but also institutionally and in substance. The Northern Dimension includes the EU’s areas of external cooperation and closely connects various internal policies.

Nordic Cooperation and the Northern Dimension are complementary and mutually reinforcing. The Nordic Countries operate right out of the heart of the Northern Dimension, in the EU, in each of the four Regional Councils (BEAC, NCM, CBSS, AC), bilaterally and between themselves and neighbouring countries, United States and Canada. The Nordic Countries can make a great contribution to developing and strengthening the Northern Dimension; they open up their expertise on a cold climate, a sparse population, resources, differences, opportunities and challenges to thefor everyone’s use without forgetting their common nominator: their proximity to Russia.

The Nordic Cooperation and the Northern Dimension both have a wide scope and many dimensions, concrete projects and financing.

It is very natural that the substantial issues regarding the North overlap. At the same time, it is regrettable that we cannot avoid institutional overlap. We have to learn to live with it, but also work continuously in trying to streamline the different cooperation processes.

And last but not least, we all have to understand, that cooperation under the Northern Dimension is inclusive. Under this umbrella concept, Baltic Sea cooperation, the issues of the Far North and those of northwestern Russia are not challenged. Focus on one does not diminish the other.

The ultimate goal of our common policies is prosperity and stability, with welfare and security shared by all nations. To carry out this plan we need both systematic cooperation between the Governments and down-to-earth approaches with new ideas and projects, the involvement of non-governmental organisations and people-to-people contacts. In my opinion, this is a very good model, which already exists in Nordic Cooperation.