Current affairs

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.

Finns are once again actively travelling abroad. Over the years, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been reminding travellers of things to take into account when travelling abroad to make sure their trip runs as smoothly as possible.

The Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT) will hold its plenary meeting in Helsinki on 11–13 December under the leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The members of the CDCT are from the 46 member States of the Council of Europe. In addition, the United States and several organisations, such as the EU, Europol, Eurojust, OSCE and Interpol, regularly participate in the meetings.

Always inform the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in Finland if your address changes.

On 12 October 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a decision on a case concerning continuation of detention on remand. The Court declared inadmissible the application alleging a violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security of person) of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention).

Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs is planning to launch a tendering process for outsourcing its entry permit application submission services in 2024. As a preparation for the upcoming tendering process, the Ministry will survey the market in autumn 2023.

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.

Heads of Finland’s missions abroad and foreign policy leaders will meet again at the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission in Helsinki on 21–23 August.