Van Rompuy said that Finland was playing an important role in the Union and the eurozone, and that key lessons could be drawn from Finland's crisis management.
The current crisis has shown us how interdependent we are in Europe. The interdependence is particularly strong among euro area countries - but it also goes beyond the eurozone. It is not only about giving a helping hand to the countries most in need. It is also about restoring growth and stability in Europe that will benefit us all.
But it is not all about economics and growth. It is also about being part of the same Union. We all have both a political responsibility and a political interest in coming out of the crisis stronger. The stronger the European Union, the more can we influence the world surrounding us.
At next week's summit, I will suggest that we explore new ideas, including a possible fiscal capacity for the euro area and possible contractual arrangements between the EU and the Member States to ensure that the necessary structural reforms are carried out. We must look into this but I should like to point out... that neither of these ideas imply or necessitate permanent transfers from one Member State to another.
At our special summit in November, I will ask European leaders to agree the future multiannual financial framework for the EU. Even if this represents only about 1 per cent of European GDP, it does amount to around €1 trillion over seven years, which can have huge impact on growth. It enables investments with a Europe-wide growth potential which otherwise would simply not be possible.
The budget needs to take off on 1 January 2014, but months of preparation will still be required to set all the pieces. Finding a compromise is a political challenge. It needs the unanimous agreement of every Member State and the consent of the European Parliament. Yet, this has now been discussed at various levels for over a year. The remaining divergences concern an amount that comes to approximately 0.1 per cent of EU GDP. It is surely within the reach of 27 heads of state and government to find a compromise on this amount, which is much smaller than those that have been at stake in other recent discussions.
Finland is a net contributor to the EU budget. But Finland also benefits from it directly and indirectly. It benefits from growth in those Member States where the EU funding is a key tool to spur public and private investment. The future EU budgets will spend better - they will bring higher value for money. But to get there, we all need an agreement on the MFF in November. A failure would mean a failure for jobs and growth.
And that will be my concluding remark: all our current work on getting Europe out of the crisis is not just for the sake of sound budgets or to have a stable currency. No, we do this for growth and jobs, for our common future. It is about the European project itself. And we are winning this battle.
Full speech
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