Finland's HE K. Jamsen: Bulgaria Should be More Transparent, Open

Novinite Insider » INTERVIEW | December 15, 2006, Friday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Finland's HE K. Jamsen: Bulgaria Should be More Transparent, Open Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

HE Kauko Jamsen has been serving as Finland's Ambassador to Sofia since 2005. A graduate of the University of Helsinki (Master of Political Science) and Sanoma School of Journalism (Degree in Journalism). Prior to his arrival in Sofia, he served as Counsellor, Embassy of Finland in Washington, Head of the Commercial Office (1987-90), Deputy Head of the Mission, Embassy of Finland in Moscow (1994- 96), 1996-98 Ambassador and Deputy Director General for Central and Eastern Europe (Department of Trade Policy) and 1998-2001 for Division for Eastern Affairs. From 2001 till 2005 Mr Jamsen was Consul General at the Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg. Interestingly, he was head coach of the Finnish national basketball team (1974-76). Married, has five children

Ambassador Kauko Jamsen* answered questions of Sofia News Agency Editor-in-Chief Milena Hristova.

Q: Do you see the timely accession of Bulgaria to the European Union as the end of a success story?

A: No, for several reasons. The membership brings not only opportunities but also new challenges. Bulgaria needs to be ready to take a real "ownership" and responsibility of the membership and its requirements. For example, I am concerned about Bulgaria's capabilities to utilize the EU funds in the way that supports the continuation of the reforms and satisfies the expectations of all Bulgarians.

Unfortunately Bulgaria has been slow in transposing the EU legislation into the national legislation. The 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004 were much more ready one-two months before the membership.

Third, Bulgaria's reforms have slowed down also in addressing the shortcomings and benchmarks listed in EU Commission's report in September concerning the judiciary, corruption, money laundering and organized crime. Bulgaria is not yet a transparent enough country. The EU, Finland and other member countries are now looking forward to the co-operation with Bulgarians to guarantee that the membership will be success.

So, a lot work is still ahead in order to talk about the end of a successful story. However, the entry to the EU as such tells also about the fact that Bulgaria has during seven years performed enough reforms to be able to join the Union next year. I would also like to congratulate Bulgaria for a very good macroeconomic development and the successful foreign policy.

Q: Finland decided to open its labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian jobseekers. How would you justify that decision?

A: Finland learned from the good experiences of those few countries, which opened the labour market for the new members joining the EU in 2004. That is why Finland ended the restrictions with those countries already last May, announcing at the same time that it will be the case also with Bulgaria and Romania when they become members.

Q: How would you comment the proposal the rapporteur for Bulgaria Geoffrey Van Orden for a delay in the decommissioning of the nuke units, due on January 1? What was the political message that the proposal sent? Could Bulgaria benefit from it even though it was rejected?

A: It was a surprising move of Bulgaria's good friend. But Finland and other EU-countries, which are worried about the dangerous nuclear power plants, also are Bulgaria's good friends. I believe that the closure will give a new push to the efforts of searching alternative energy sources and to energy saving investments.

I appreciate that Bulgaria's political leaders have been consistently sticking to the commitments taken in the accession treaty without fearing the loss of political points. It will help Bulgaria to get more understanding and support in reducing the energy problems during the transition period. Finland has in 15 years granted tens of millions of Euros to reduce the safety problems of Russia's two outdated nuclear power plants close to the Finnish border and now Russia has decided to extend their lifespan, which has not been our aim. That worries us now.

Q: How can Bulgaria silence those who doubt it is ready to join the block? Where do the main risks of failure and safeguard clauses lie?

A: The best weapon would be clearing the table as soon as possible from the remaining concerns of the EU and its citizens. If it takes too long, even years, it would harm in very unpleasant way Bulgaria's interests. This "home work" is mentioned clearly enough in the EU Commission's monitoring report in September. It has to be taken seriously. It will result very soon in Bulgaria's positive international image and competitiveness and lead to even quicker growth of production investments in Bulgarian economy. So far property and land sales account for a big share in foreign investments. However, as far as the constitutional changes - 4th amendment - are concerned, it is better to be very careful and produce sustainable changes. Using some more time to it may save the country from another 5th amendment. This might also be in the EUВґs interest.

What borders me personally is the sort of fear of transparency and openness in Bulgarian society. It results in a too large grey economy, corruption and obstacles in opening the remaining secrets of near history. All this maintains organized crime and keeps the living standard fairly low.

Q: Do you think Bulgarian politicians did their best to spell out the impact of EU accession to the average Bulgarian?

A: Bulgaria started to prepare for the membership fairly late and the politicians have to be very active now in informing about the EU and its opportunities to the people. Finland's and its municipalitiesВґ preparations began six years before the membership, but we also gained from the membership of the European Economic Area, which was a kind of safety net for those EFTA countries that in the end did not want to join the EU.

As I said, one of the major concerns is the absorption of the EU funds. Bulgaria's presentation has not been so good so far. I would be very delighted, if the politicians understand how important it is to activate the local and regional authorities and companies to gain from the EU funds and avoid putting too much money into old programmes. Finland's success, high competitiveness, innovation policies and environmental sustainability result very much from the active and clever use of EU funds. They were mainly used for the regional development and improving the business climate. So, I want to underline the importance of the EU information. How the EU works and the knowledge of the EU funds. The training of civil servants and businesses is also very important and I have found that the Ministry of State Administration has given a good example in this respect. But Bulgaria has to mobilise the whole society to guarantee the successful work in order to avoid the disappointment of the people.

Q: Do you share the opinion that the European Union is "doomed" to continue its expansion?

A: Yes, Finland's own experience of participation in the European integration has influenced our positive attitude towards further enlargement. We want to offer the same opportunity to others. I believe that it will also bring stability and prosperity to Europe and create a new common Europe. A successful enlargement will also strengthen the EU and as an international actor. And, really, we have had good experiences about the latest enlargement. But Finland sticks very firmly to the principle of setting clear criteria for membership and the candidates must meet them before accession come into question. It was in Helsinki in December 1999 during Finland's first EU Presidency that Bulgaria was invited to the membership talks with the EU. So, we are glad to bring this process to the successful end.


*Sofia News Agency has approached ambassadors of EU member states to share views and expectations on the eve of Bulgaria joining the union.

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