Foreign Minister Tuomioja to Rome to sign the European Constitution

Government Information Unit

Press Release 332/2004
22 October 2004




Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will travel to Rome on Friday, 29 October, to sign the European Constitution and its Final Act. The President of the Republic authorized the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to act as signatories at the presidential session on October 8.

The heads of state or heads of government of the European Union approved the Treaty and the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference on June 18. The Final Act lists all the documents approved at the IGC: the Treaty itself, the Protocols appended to the Treaty, and the Annexes and Declarations. The Final Act will be signed not only by the EU Member States but also by Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, which participated as observers in the IGC.

For the Treaty to enter into force, all Member States must ratify it. The Finnish Government intends to submit ratification to Parliament in 2005. The Treaty will enter into force on 1 November 2006 at the earliest, if all Member States have ratified it by then.

Further information: Helena Tuuri, Special Adviser, EU Affairs, Prime Minister's Office, tel. +358 9 1602 2055, and Director General Kare Halonen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5504 or +358 40 740 8968

Ministry for Foreign Affairs: Europe Information(Link to another website.)