Current affairs

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on 24 June. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Government has approved the proposal for the Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy. The report assesses Finland’s foreign and security policy environment and defines Finland’s objectives and priorities for the next few years.

The management structure of the Team Finland network in Finland will be renewed and the foreign activities of Business Finland will be integrated into the Foreign Service. The changes will proceed in stages and the implementation will take place in cooperation with the business community.

A total of 15,071 persons visited the Finnish diplomatic and consular missions abroad to vote in advance in the elections to the European Parliament. Altogether 150 crew members voted on board Finnish vessels. In the 2019 European elections, 16,547 persons voted abroad at the Finnish missions and on board vessels.

The European Commission decided on 22 May 2024 to increase Schengen visa fees as of 11 June 2024. The increase will apply worldwide.

The request for participation, instructions for responding and contact details regarding the competitive procedure are available for service providers in the HILMA official service for notices on public procurement in Finland. Service providers are requested to submit their responses by 2 May 2024.

In the second round of the presidential election, a total of 62,294 people cast their vote in advance at Finland’s missions abroad. Altogether 220 crew members voted on board Finnish vessels.

A total of 58,757 persons cast their vote in advance in the presidential election at Finland’s missions abroad. The number of crew members who voted on board Finnish vessels was 223.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ project on interoperability (the UMPIO project) coordinates the data related to internal security, border security and migration management in the EU information systems for security. The project is part of the development of entry systems funded by the EU.

In 2023, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the missions abroad provided consular services to approximately 244,000 customers. The demand for advisory services remained high. Over the course of the year, the Ministry’s 24/7 service was contacted around 8,000 times in total.