The President of the Republic received the Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, at Kadriorg today.

During the meeting the President expressed his gratitude for the strong support Estonia has lately been receiving from Finland. “One of our foreign policy priorities is full membership in the European Union, and the Finnish people, Government and politicians have supported us; the Estonian people have felt this support. The Finnish policy has made a notable favourable impact on developments on the eastern coast of the Baltic.” The Finnish Prime Minister clarified that the difference of opinions on matters of EU enlargement between Finland and, say, Denmark is hardly substantive. “The formula we are striving for in EU enlargement is 5+1, with work continuing with the remaining five applicants,” said Lipponen. “It means we support the Commission’s recommendation and at the same time we wish to give others certain guarantee mechanisms for admission, which is also necessary,” he explained. President Meri said it was as much in Estonia’s interests that a permanent committee be established to study the readiness of countries for EU membership: that would help preclude internal psychological tensions in those countries.

President Meri reconfirmed Estonia’s interest in a wider energy network, which would yield the Baltic countries access via Finland to deposits of the North Sea. This project was already discussed at the first meeting of the Baltic Presidents back in 1992. In power engineering this is a strategic priority for Estonia. According to Paavo Lipponen, Finland also wants to see a common energy system of the Baltic region. Finland’s close cooperative ties include Russia’s Gazprom and Germany’s Ruhrgas.

Prime Minister Lipponen addressed the topic of the present state of affairs concerning the prospects of signing a border agreement between Estonia and Russia. At that the Finnish Premier underscored that the lack of a finalized border agreement was no obstacle to Estonia’s progress towards the European Union. President Meri recalled the three principles that Estonian-Russian relations could be based on: bilateral beneficialness of relations, international law, and long-term prospects of relations. These principles are fully acceptable to the Russian side as well, of which Meri has prior assurances by Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.

The Finnish Prime Minister was accompanied to Kadriorg by Ambassador Pekka Oinonen of Finland to Estonia and officials from the Political Department of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Paavo Lipponen has been to Kadriorg before: it was in March 1994 in the capacity of Chairman of his Party, not yet as Prime Minister.


The Office of the President of Estonia
Kadriorg November 17, 1997

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