After 25 years of Common EU Membership - Working Together for a Greener European Future OPENING WORDS Gunvor Kronman, CEO, Hanaholmen – Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, It’s my great pleasure to wish you all warmly welcome to this seminar celebrating the 25th anniversary of Austrian, Finnish and Swedish EU-membership. Hanaholmen is an institution where normally two countries, Sweden and Finland, are brought together to create added value from co-operation in the fields of culture, society and business. Today, we In the early membership phase, the Lisbon are honoured and delighted to include Strategy set as aim to make the EU the Austria as partner in our programme. most competitive and dynamic knowl- edge-based economy in the world by 2010. We had a genuine challenge, when deter- It was succeeded by the Europe 2020 strat- mining the topic of the seminar, which egy, an agenda for growth and jobs for the included a multitude of candidates, among next decade, emphasizing smart, sustain- others: able and inclusive growth. In December • the future of multilateral 2019, the European Commission presented co-operation the European Green Deal for making the • reflections on EU negoti- EU’s economy sustainable by turning ations and membership climate and environmental challenges into from key EU-profiles opportunities. • the successes and chal- lenges of free mobility The programme is the result of fruitful co-op- • effects on border-regions eration between the Austrian Embassy, from EU-membership the Swedish Embassy, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Institute for It was clear that we wanted to have a strong International Affairs and Hanaholmen – the focus on the future of the EU, so in the end, Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre. it was easy to finally agree to focus on the European Green Deal. Warm thanks to our partners and speakers. I also want to express my appreciation to It is often said that EU-integration moves Marika Krook and Maija Weitz for adding a forward through the management of acute cultural dimension by performing songs by crises. That may be the case, but one cannot Jean Sibelius, Ralf Gothoni, Ture Rangström neglect the importance of comprehensive and Robert Stolz. strategic visions defined at the EU level. 2 PROGRAMME Marika Krook, well-known classical singer and musical star, and Maija Weitz, pianist with an international concert activity in the field of chamber music and lied accompaniment, performed songs by Jean Sibelius, Ralf Gothoni, Ture Rangström and Robert Stolz. Moderator: Juha Jokela, Programme Director, Finnish Institute of International Affairs 10.00 Opening Words • Gunvor Kronman, CEO, Hanaholmen - Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre 10.03 High-level Introductory session with Video Messages from: • Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, Austria • Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Finland • Hans Dahlgren, Minister for EU Affairs, Sweden Jean Sibelius: Demanten på marssnön Ralf Gothoni, arr.: Finnish folk song “Minun kultani kaunis on” 10.20 Keynote Session: Perspectives on the Green Deal from Austria, Finland and Sweden • Georg Rebernig, Managing Director, Austrian Umweltbundesamt • Mari Pantsar, Director, Carbon Neutral Circular Economy, The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra • Nina Ekelund, Executive Director, Haga Initiative Wrap-up of the keynote presentations • Marco Siddi, Senior Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs Robert Stolz: Jadja´s song “Fern im schönen Polenland” 11.10 Concluding Conversation on the Future of the EU and the Green Deal • H.E. Maximilian Hennig, Ambassador to Finland, Austria • H.E. Nicola Clase, Ambassador to Finland, Sweden • Jan Wahlberg, Ambassador for Climate Change, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland Ture Rangström: Den enda stunden See the recording of the event: https://www.hanaholmen.fi/sv/hanasaari-tv/25-years-of-common-eu-membership/ 3 HIGH-LEVEL INTRODUCTORY SESSION Karoline Edtstadler, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, Austria Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen! I am more than happy to participate in this event to the common EU Membership of Finland and Austria today. Even if only virtu- ally in these difficult times of crises, I think it is very important to highlight our common 25th anniversary in the European Union. Looking back 25 years, not only Austria changed but also the European Union and the whole world. Within EU, we are need to be discussed within the EU to now more politically and economically develop it further. One example are the intertwined. Western Balkans. The EU is not complete until the Western Balkans joined the EU In 1989 the Austrian Government applied with the so-called „Letter to Brussels“ for the This year which marks our 25th anniver- membership in the European Economic sary has also been overlaid by the COVID Community at that time. 19 crisis. This pandemic has shown the strength and weaknesses and the need for It was a historical moment, when on June more resilience within the European Union. 12th 1994 66.6 percent of Austrian citizens voted in favour of the EU membership. I We need to draw lessons from this crisis to remember the time when Austria joined look forward and to overcome future crises. the European Union. Back then I lived in my It is crucial to respond in time to new devel- hometown in Salzburg in the border region opments in an ever more complex world. to Germany. This is why I actively advocate for the start of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Austria held the EU Council Presidency 3 The crisis has also shown us that people times, most recently from July to December expect more from the European Union. I 2018 with the motto „A Europe, that am convinced we can draw lessons from protects“. The main focus laid on secu- this crisis and make use of them for the rity and the fight against illegal migration, better for the future of the European Union. securing prosperity and competitiveness through digitalisation and stability in the Thank you! European neighbourhood. It is not only our anniversary that links Austria and Finland. At EU level we share common positions and common issues in many fields such as rule of law, and EU budget. There are still many topics that 4 Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Finland Greetings to you all, It is an honour to greet you via this video message. For a quarter of a century, EU membership has brought Finland, Sweden and Austria wellbeing, peace and stability. The world looked very different in 1995 when we joined the EU. So did the European Union. The world around us has become increasingly complex and unpredictable. At the same time, the EU has grown larger and more ambitious. However, the leitmo- tiv of the EU remains the same: Together the devastating effects of the pandemic. we are stronger. Together we can make a On the contrary, we have come together difference. to agree a historic, exceptional Recovery Package that will help us to enhance our For small, export driven countries, going competitiveness and move towards more alone is not an option. At the same time, the sustainable economies. EU is much more than a common market. It is a community of values and, especially Building a stronger, deeper and fairer Single for Finland EU is a security community. Market is close to the Finnish, Swedish and Austrian hearts. For us, ensuring an open This year has been exceptional. It has been economy and promoting a level play- the year of the pandemic. While our focus ing field – both internally and globally – is is still on crisis response and recovery, we key. At a time when protectionism is rais- also need to look ahead and work towards ing its head, the EU’s role as a defender of a more resilient and competitive EU. Here, free trade is ever more important. Strategic Finland, Sweden and Austria have much in autonomy should not be about building common. walls and barriers. Instead, it should be about improving our competitiveness and EU’s common values are the bedrock of investing in innovation, to ensure that the resilience. I am delighted on our close coop- EU remains an attractive trading partner eration with Sweden and Austria in making that cannot be ignored. sure that rule of law and other key values are respected, even in times of turbulence. In an increasingly volatile world, the EU must continue to show leadership in build- We also share high ambitions in the field ing coalitions and partnerships in support of climate policy. Green and digital tran- of effective multilateralism. Here, we should sition is needed, not only to mitigate act strongly according to our values. climate change, but also to boost the EU’s competitiveness. The Green Deal is key to We all are shocked and saddened by the European resilience, growth and prosper- recent terrorist attack in Vienna. Such acts ity. The EU has not become paralysed by are totally unacceptable and also constitute 5 attacks on our common values. It is evident that we need to continue our work on counter-terrorism with even greater deter- mination to protect our citizens. As part of a comprehensive approach to security, I would also like to highlight the importance of combatting hybrid threats. Finland, Sweden and Austria share the objective of a strong, united and well-func- tioning EU, with a capacity to respond to European and global challenges. In the past 25 years, EU membership has become an everyday reality, sometimes even some- thing to take for granted, for our citizens. Still, the work is not over, I look forward to continuing our cooperation towards deci- sions and actions that benefit our citizens and the EU as a whole.