Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-07-21-Speech-3-088"
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"en.19990721.6.3-088"2
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"(FI) Mr President, during the Finnish presidential term, the Council will be discussing many important issues. The Finnish government"s programme for its presidential term shows that Finland intends to carry out its most important tasks in an effective manner. For my part, I would like to make two points. As far as the future of the Union is concerned the most important tasks of the Council will be tied, on the one hand, to enlargement, and, on the other, to improving the Union"s decision-making machinery, both of which hinge on one another.
The large-scale programme of enlargement which is now on the horizon calls for a selection of bold reforms to the decision-making process. The Union, which is achieving pan-European dimensions, can only function properly if it develops more as a union of independent states rather than a federation. This must be taken into account when the mandate for the next Intergovernmental Conference is being drafted. The mandate must be drafted in such a way that the Union"s decision-making process is changed to cater for the needs of eastward enlargement as a whole and not the requirements of accession in respect of just five or six countries. This being the case, action cannot be restricted merely to the points not covered by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Union has to change direction. Any move towards a centralised federation of states on the American model must be checked; we should be aiming for a decentralised Union, and here the Swiss federation might serve as a model in principle. The Swiss system is often referred to as a confederation. Only a Union developing in this sort of direction will be able to enlarge in accordance with existing plans. The Intergovernmental Conference mandate must therefore be broad in scope and include an investigation into the basic principles of the Union"s decision-making process.
My other point is connected with the northern dimension. During its presidential term, Finland must try to speed up developments associated with the northern dimension. The next major step will be the development of the northern dimension as part of the union"s internal policy. The northern dimension means that the situation and circumstances pertaining to the northern regions should be taken into consideration in all Union decision making."@en1
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"Väyrynen (ELDR)"1
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