Finland supports Bulgaria in its endeavours to take EU accession process to a conclusion, said Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland, in her address at the National Assembly. The President Halonen is on an official visit in Bulgaria at the invitation of the President Georgi Parvanov.

Further development depends on the pace at which Bulgaria itself is able to take accession process to a conclusion, added Ms. Halonen.

Twenty-three negotiation chapters have already been conditionally closed. Eight difficult chapters, however, still remain the subject of negotiation. At the same time Bulgaria must be able to carry out extensive legislative work. It also has to change the structures of its judicial system, administration, environmental policy and economy in such a way that the adoption and implementation of the acquis is also possible in practice, pointed out the Finnish President.

In the accession negotiations with the EU there is a decisive stage ahead, which demands the cooperation and commitment of the Members of Parliament, too. I believe that Bulgarians have a lot to win and a lot to contribute in this work, stated Ms. Halonen.

Finland has also offered Bulgaria the use of its own experiences of its accession negotiations of ten years ago, and also practical support in different sectors, such as in the development of regional governance and in making border security more effective, for example. In terms of improving the position of minorities, Finland has a long tradition, especially from the sphere of the Council of Europe. The position of the Roma minority is an example of a question which is common to all European countries and to which we must able to find common solutions, said the Finnish President.

Bulgaria is facing a year of great challenges. As a member of the UN Security Council it has a special responsibility for international peace.
We are faced by new kinds of global threats to security that are even more difficult to identify than before. This too should teach us a new form of global management.
The United Nations, its Secretary-General and the Security Council, ant other organs are the only genuinely global institutions that have the prerequisites to achieve the unreserved trust of all peoples in their endeavours to ensure peace, security and development in a changing world, concluded Ms. Halonen