Current affairs

The President of the Republic appointed new Ambassadors on 6 April. Most of them will assume their functions on 1 September 2018.

The President of the National Security Authority of Belgium Claudia De Maesschalck and the Director of the Finnish Security Authority NSA Tarja Laitiainen signed today in Helsinki the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information (GSA) between the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Belgium.

The Foreign Ministry has not been reported of Finns among the injured. Finnish citizens are requested to register at www.matkustusilmoitus.fi.

At the presidential session on Friday 10 April, the President of the Republic decided to appoint new heads of mission to Brussels, Kathmandu and Singapore and a side-accreditation to Jordan.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is making changes to Finland’s network of diplomatic missions as part of the central government’s savings. The changes arise from decisions to cut the Ministry’s appropriations for operating expenses. The embassies of Finland in Luxembourg, Bratislava (Slovakia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia) will be closed by the end of 2015.

This week, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the NATO/ISAF meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 4 December and the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 5–6 December. On 6 December, the Minister will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw and attend the Independence Day receptions held by Finnish Embassies in both Kiev and Warsaw.

Slideshow: Restaurant Day lets anyone set up a pop-up resto. The Helsinki idea has quickly spread around Finland and abroad.

Invented in Helsinki and celebrating its first anniversary on May 19, 2012, Restaurant Day allows anyone to set up their own café, resto or bar for one day. It has quickly spread to other cities and become a Finnish tradition, also gaining popularity abroad.

Slideshow: Restaurant Day lets anyone set up a pop-up resto. The Helsinki idea has quickly spread around Finland and abroad.

New ambassadorial appointments to Washington, Alger, Brussels, Mission to NATO, Tel Aviv, Kathmandu and Dar es Salaam