She touched on the end of her term in office during the speech, but for the most part emphasised the future challenges Finland will face, and the impossibility of successfully meeting them alone.

”There is not a single country in Europe large enough to cope with the economy on its own in the long run, never mind environmental matters or security or other large issues,” said Halonen. ”There is no returning to the past; the best way forward is to continue to try to solve the current issues in European co-operation.”

”More peacekeeping work under UN flag”

According to Halonen, globalisation should be made fairer both between and within countries. The security challenges it brings should be met in part with international co-operation.

”In this era of globalisation, even distant crises and conflicts have ripple effects that extend to Finland,” said Halonen. ”These crises often stem from poverty, inequality and infringements of human rights. In order to safeguard the security of Finns, we need a broad-based concept of security alongside our traditional defence system.”

Halonen believes more peacekeeping operations should be conducted under the auspices of the UN, and welcomed Finnish peacekeepers’ return to Lebanon as a step in the right direction.

She also praised Finland’s deeper and more diverse relations with its eastern neighbour. She said that person-to-person contacts and business links have helped put relations with Russia on a sound footing.

”Rising inequality is not a force of nature”

On the home front, Halonen again expressed her worries that Finland may be becoming a less equal society.

”Differences between the life expectancies in various income brackets have grown rapidly; the difference in life expectancy between the highest and lowest income brackets is almost 13 years for men and seven years for women,” said the president.

”Poverty among children has increased at an alarming rate. The social exclusion of young people is not something that we want to see in our society.”

Despite the worrying statistics, Halonen puts her faith in political action to ensure Finland’s welfare state and relatively equal society are protected.

” The growth of inequality is not a force of nature. It can be fought back. With our welfare society we can ensure that people are treated equally and can also remain competitive globally. It is all about political will and skill of execution.”

Halonen also mentioned the winter storms that have left thousands without power in Finland. She linked them to the UN Millennium sustainable goals, which aim to safeguard the environment. She also said that she hopes international co-operation will one day lead to a cleaner Baltic Sea.

Halonen was elected president in 2000, and won re-election in 2006. Finnish presidents can only remain in office for two terms, so she will be replaced as head of state this year. The first round of presidential elections will be held on 22 January.