The governments of Finland and Sweden held a historic joint cabinet meeting Today as part of events marking the bicentenary of the separation in 1809 of the two Nordic neighbours, according to dpa. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said the Nordic region - including Denmark, Norway and Iceland - could benefit from cooperating more in international forums, citing that the region's "joint economic weight is quite significant." Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt noted that as neighbours the two countries and peoples share common values, "a joint history and a joint future." Reinfeldt also welcomed Finnish pledges of support during the upcoming Swedish presidency of the European Union. Both Vanhanen and Reinfeldt later told reporters that they remained convinced of the benefits of EU enlargement. "The enlargement process has been a success story for the EU," Vanhanen said. "The doors have been and should be open to all those European countries that can fulfill the EU's criteria." The two cabinets discussed a wide range of topics including means to improve the environment of the Baltic Sea, enhancing business cooperation and educational exchange, climate change and experiences of tackling the effects of the global downturn. The two premiers co-chaired the meeting attended by some 30 cabinet members in the southern Finnish town of Hameenlinna. The venue was the Hame castle that dates back to the 13th century. Prior to 1809, Finland and Sweden were in many aspects regarded as one entity for over 600 years, sharing joint administration, legislation and economy, even though the majority of the inhabitants in the eastern part - what is Finland today - spoke Finnish. 1809 marked a sea change in both countries. For Sweden, the September 1809 peace treaty with Russia meant the loss of a third of its territory and a fourth of the population - a traumatic event. Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, and was to declare independence in 1917. Finland still has two official languages - Finnish and Swedish - and some 5-6 per cent of the population of 5.3 million have Swedish as their mother tongue.
