Prime Minister Vanhanen, Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health, 27 October 2003

I would like to warmly thank the Norwegian government for organising this meeting which marks the launch of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing. This meeting is an opportunity to take forward the Northern Dimension in a practical way and to address key challenges we all face. I am happy to see a prominent participation from the EU Commission, EU member states, Northern Dimension partner countries, transatlantic friends, international and regional organisations. This will ensure that today"s discussions will lead to concrete ideas to the benefit of those living in this region and to Europe as a whole.

The initiative on the Northern Dimension was officially launched 1997 as a response to changes that had taken place in Europe. The overarching idea behind the initiative was to help strengthen the positive interdependency between the countries located in the Northern region. The region has a huge human and economic potential, but it is also known for its long distances, sparsely populated areas and a severe climate as well as significant socio-economic disparity.

The enlargement of the European Union does not diminish the importance of the ongoing cooperation under the framework of the Northern Dimension. Completing the EU enlargement process is a high priority for Finland. Enlargement is a continuation of the Union"s original purpose of healing Europe’s divisions and creating an ever-closer union of its peoples. EU enlargement changes its borders fundamentally and brings new partners into play. The need for cooperation across borders as well as regionally increases.

The strong commitment of the EU Commission in the implementation of the Northern Dimension policies is crucial. Also the participation of the representatives of regional and local authorities, the business community and civil society should be encouraged. EU enlargement has intensified the discussion about the priorities of the cooperation across borders and its financing. Finland warmly welcomes the initiative on the establishment of a new Neighbourhood Instrument. This instrument would be capable of operating on an equal footing on both sides of EU’s external borders. It marks a considerable improvement to the existing crossborder instruments (Interreg, Tacis and Phare).

Our experiences from the Partnership model as a way to cooperate in the Northern Dimension have been encouraging. The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership has offered an effective way to combine resources from national governments on one hand and international financing institutions on the other. This kind of cooperative approach will certainly prove its fruitfulness also in other sectors.

Throughout the years, Finland has sought to widen the scope of EU’s Northern Dimension activities to cover a wide spectrum of sectors and such spheres of life that are relevant and close to people. The recently adopted second Action Plan for the Northern Dimension for the years 2004-2006 is a major step in that direction.

One of the fundamentalobjectives of the Northern Dimension Action Plan for 2004-2006 is the enhancement of the welfare and health of citizens. The Action Plan emphasizes the necessity to combat communicable diseases and calls for measures to improve the health and social conditions of children and youth. According to the Plan, health issues should be seen in a broader socio-economic context. The Action Plan"s specific references to the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing give a strong supportive signal for us today.

The launch of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing, which took place just a few moments ago, is a successful example of what Northern Dimension policies can mean in concrete terms. After a year’s hard work we have now in our hands a definite set of priorities and strategies for the future activities and a practical outline for the structures and mechanisms of the Partnership.

Altogether 18 countries and a dozen international organisations participated in the intense negotiation process leading to the establishment of the Partnership. Active participation by all relevant actors proves that there is a true need for a new type of co-operation and pooling of efforts. On behalf of the yielding chairing country I wish to extend our sincere thanks to all those who participated in the process, who came with fresh ideas, proposals, comments and, as is needed in these kind of processes, also with constructive criticism and workable compromises.

The intensification of international co-operation in health issues in the Northern Dimension area is a crucial priority. Despite many attempts, the social and health situation has not significantly improved in the area. In some aspects – such as the spread of communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis – it is rapidly worsening. Trends of this kind are becoming an obstacle to sustainable social and economic development in the area.

Despite the increased attention and manifold action, HIV/AIDS remains one of the biggest challenges to the international community. It is a major global emergency, which also threatens global security. HIV-transmission linked to the trafficking of women and sexual exploitation is a tragic example of the violation of the human rights of women and children. At the same time, poverty and social exclusion are expanding in the world. Premature deaths of working-age people put families, children and youth in social distress. Unhealthy lifestyles, drug abuse and excessive use of alcohol and tobacco pose a threat to the life of future generations. Such threats undermine the social stability and economic productivity of societies. These threats undermine our future.

The problems we are facing are closely interlinked and reach across borders. Good policies and strategies are not effective if they are implemented only at the national level. Regional efforts linked to global targets are important tools in the overall efforts to reach sustainable results.

Today is the time for concerted joint efforts. The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing offers a unique platform for joint activities in the Northern Dimension area. Only by joining our efforts and by acting as equal partners can we achieve the goals set for the new Partnership: the prevention of major public health problems and the promotion of healthy and socially rewarding lifestyles. Several projects are already underway under the regional bodies: the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. The Partnership will also provide an opportunity to promote co-operation within the framework of these councils.

Achieving the goals of the Partnership may well require new funding in addition to a better co-ordination of the ongoing and planned activities by different partners. This is also envisaged in the Declaration launching the Partnership. The Finnish Government, for its part, is willing to consider in a positive spirit contributing to a possible common Fund if a decision is made to establish such a Fund.

During its deliberations the International Temporary Working Group was backed up by a Helsinki-based temporary secretariat which now ceases to exist. As envisaged in the Declaration, a Partnership project of this magnitude needs to be supported by adequate secretarial services. I am glad to inform that Finland is prepared to make, for an initial period, a special contribution towards the creation of a small secretariat.

Before concluding, I would like to extend our special thanks to Norway, whose Prime Minister Mr Kjell-Magne Bondevik already at the Joensuu Forum expressed Norway’s full commitment to the Partnership project and promised that Norway would host a concluding conference within a year’s time. Here we stand together witnessing the birth of the new Partnership. We wish to forward our warm thanks to the Norwegian Government for organising and hosting this Conference. Let me also say that your support and skilful navigating, especially towards the end of the negotiating process, was quite indispensable and much appreciated.

Sweden is to assume the first two-year Chairmanship of the Partnership. Putting into effect the principles embodied in the Declaration will be decisive for the future of the Partnership and undoubtedly a demanding task in which you can count on Finland"s support. I wish, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the preceding negotiation period, all success to Sweden in the years to come.