Council of Europe
Finland's permanent representation, Strasbourg
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Tokyo on 26–27 September. He will represent Finland at the state funeral for Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on 27 September.
Finland, like many other States, has decided to take part in two sets of international judicial proceedings in which Ukraine demands that Russia be held responsible for violations of international law.
Finland calls for a recommendation that allow Schengen countries, when they refuse entry of Russian nationals at their border, to either annul or revoke a person’s visa or impose an entry ban on them in accordance with ordinary Schengen practices.
The Finnish Internet Forum will be held on Thursday 29 September 2022, after a break of three years. The themes of the event include the impacts that giant platform economy companies may have on freedom of speech and EU regulation concerning the internet.
Finland will participate in the EU Integrated Resolve Exercise, which will be held between 19 September and 18 November 2022.
The high-level meetings of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) will start in New York on Monday 19 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with their counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister Skinnari also has Team Finland programme.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on 15 September.
Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will attend a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 13 September. The meeting will be held virtually.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 50th regular session from 13 June to 8 July 2022. It is the UN’s most important intergovernmental body protecting and promoting human rights.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 51th regular session from 12 September to 7 October. This is the third session during Finland’s three-year membership in the Human Rights Council. Finland will continue its long-standing commitment to the promotion of universal human rights.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet political leaders of Åland in Mariehamn on 12 September.
On 2 September, the Finnish police decided to interrupt the active criminal investigation measures requested by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. On 17 December 2019, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs requested the police to investigate how certain internal documents wound up in the public domain.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a meeting of Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers, to be held in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) cooperation format, in Kaunas in Lithuania on 6–7 September.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will continue to expand the network of Finnish missions abroad. On 26 August, the President of the Republic approved an amendment to the Decree on the Locations of Finland's Diplomatic Missions and the Provision of Consular Services in the Foreign Service. As a result, Finland will open an Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and a Consulate General in Mumbai, India, on 1 September 2022.
In the supplementary budget in July, the Government allocated additional funds to Ukraine amounting to EUR 70 million. Half of these funds has now been granted to improving food security and reproductive health services, ensuring the payment of teachers’ salaries, and to providing accommodation in Ukraine for those who have lost their homes.
The Government proposes EUR 1.3 billion in appropriations for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Support for Ukraine will continue to be at the heart of the Ministry’s budget in 2023.
EU foreign affairs ministers will meet at the Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) in Prague in the Czech Republic on 30–31 August. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting. The foreign ministers will discuss the EU’s relations with Africa and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They will meet the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
In the Trilateral Memorandum signed in Madrid in June 2022, Türkiye, Finland and Sweden agreed on establishing a Permanent Joint Mechanism to follow up on the implementation of the Memorandum and to enhance cooperation on common security.
On 24–26 August 2022, Europe Forum Turku will gather Finnish opinion-makers and citizens to discuss Finland’s role in Europe. The Ministers and public officials of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will contribute as speakers to many of the Forum events. In addition, Europe Information of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will have a stand in the Hansatori Shopping Centre on Friday 26 August.
Heads of Finland’s missions abroad and foreign policy leaders will meet again in Helsinki on 22–24 August. The meeting will take place against the background of Finland’s historic decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
