Burkina Faso
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.
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.
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.
Finland will provide EUR 17.3 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan, Ukraine, Burkina Faso and Lebanon through the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In its plenary session on 14 December 2023, the Finnish Government decided to propose that the President of the Republic authorise Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen, or if he is prevented from doing so, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen, to sign a Defence Cooperation Agreement with the United States.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has issued a Decree on Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service for 2024.
Some of the prices of services provided by the Finnish missions and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will rise. The new prices will enter into force on 1 September 2023.