Matti Vanhanen
Prime Minister of Finland, Party Leader of the Centre Party
ELDR Congress
Stockholm, October 30, 2008

Dear Annemie, Dear friends,

We have gathered here to decide on our common manifesto for the elections to the European parliament. Preparing for this election is of utmost importance for all of us.

Simply, our common goal is to increase the amount of liberal EP seats. We need a clear and attractive message. This meeting is one step on this track.

I will focus on climate change and energy policy.

Climate change is the defining issue of our generation. Future generations will judge us on how we fight climate change. The reduction of emissions can not wait. The European Union has shown leadership with this crucial issue. This is the right thing to do. Obviously, affluent countries must show their commitment in taking the lead.

Climate change and energy use go hand in hand. Energy production causes almost 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions. We must both limit our energy consumption and change the way we produce energy. We must consume less and use cleaner energy. It is urgent to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. These are the facts.

Many say that combating climate change and developing our economies are in contradiction. They are totally wrong. Taking climate change seriously is a good way to develop our economies in a sustainable way.

Renewable energy is one field where sound policies on climate change can be translated into new technologies, jobs, growth and prosperity. Denmark has already done this with wind power. Doing the right thing is also good business.

Renewable energy is also a global issue. A development issue. I can think of many developing countries that will benefit greatly if they can increase the use of renewable energy and reduce their dependence on imports of fossil fuels. For developing countries increasing renewable energy is also a matter of energy security.

The development of renewable energy and new technologies is crucial for developing countries. The European Union should focus more of its development co-operation on this area. It would benefit the whole world.

For cutting emissions and helping to mitigate the effects of global warming we need new and more environmentally friendly technologies. Existing technologies have to be improved and totally new technologies have to be developed. Therefore, technology development has become more and more important in several countries. In Europe and the United States great resources are directed to Research and Development to create and commercialise new energy and environmental technologies.

In Finland technology development is one of the key instruments in our energy and environmental policy. Public funding for energy and environment technologies has been increased heavily during last years. In 2007 we almost doubled public funding for technologies related to renewable energy and energy efficiency. We plan to make big increases again this year. Our focus is clean energy production and the efficient use of energy and materials.

This development will create fast new business opportunities for environmental technologies. Investors are more and more interested in investing in new companies in the environmental sector. For example, energy efficiency is a promising field where technology matters. In many cases it is easier and cheaper to save energy than produce more. It is evident that Green technology will be the major business area of the future. We need more negawatts than megawatts.

There is a liberal message that should read loud and clear: the European Union should be a world leader not only in combating climate change but also in developing the technology and the industries that follow from sound environmental policies.

Green technology should be one of our major election themes.

During last months a grave financial crisis has shaken the world economy. The global economy is in great difficulties. We are going through a very rough patch. Political leadership is needed. I want to stress that the current economic situation is no reason to backtrack from our important commitments on climate change. This is one of the main issues in the European Parliament elections. A dividing line. We liberals must show leadership and be firm.

We can already draw a major lesson from this financial crisis. The lesson is that no nation state can act on its own. We need to work together. The only way forward is to increase our European and global capacities to cooperate and coordinate. We need a robust financial framework for the European Union and the Euro Area. The European Union has already demonstrated its capacity for action in this crisis, but we must further develop our institutions and capabilities. This should also be on the liberal agenda for these European elections.

Furthermore, we also need to look hard at the global financial architecture. Solutions and institutions that were designed for the 1940s should be modernised for the demands of the 21^st century. We need new institutions for the new Millennium that better reflect the world today.