Finland's President, Martti Ahtisaari, came before the House to outline the priorities next year when Finland takes over the Council Presidency from Germany. He had some harsh words on the institutions.
"The European Union and its working methods must be reformed. We can't afford a Union that citizens regard as ineffectual, wasteful, remote and secretive. We must search our souls and ask whether what we are doing lives up to the expectations that are focused on us."
He said the threats facing the EU today were illegal immigration, international crime and potential dangers to the environment. These issues demanded a new kind of response. The central task of the EU, he felt, was to "defend the European model of society", founded on social responsibility and solidarity.
While emphasising that Finland supported a strong Union, and that steps forward had been made, particularly with regard to employment and the environment in the Treaty of Amsterdam, he said the priority now was to concentrate on reforms to make the EU more effective. This, he felt, should be done by making more use of qualified majority voting in areas that were essentially European issues.
Such reforms should introduce a system that would be so flexible that it would be effective and sustainable no matter how many new members were admitted in the future. It was essential to put this reform in place before the next enlargement.
His other concern was to see the EU become more effective in the resolution of international conflicts. In this respect, the Union should have the political will to intervene in crises and "also militarily if necessary". On security issues, he was particularly concerned about Finland's border with Russia and warned that, with great disparities in the standard of living between the two countries, there was the danger of new problems emerging. It was in the interests of all Europeans to be aware of this. Meanwhile, he was looking for the EU to develop a "northern dimension" similar to the Barcelona process for the Mediterranean.