Finnish and Estonian Foreign Ministers gave impetus to the European Parliament Elections

Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb thanked Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Paet for good cooperation and praised the relations between Finland and Estonia as excellent. As an example of the close interaction Stubb mentioned the joint visit the ministers made to Syria and Lebanon in May 2009. Stubb met his Estonian colleague in Helsinki on 5 June.

During the visit, the ministers discussed, for instance, the bilateral relations between Finland and Estonia, energy issues, the forthcoming European Parliament Elections, as well as Russia and European security issues. Stubb hoped that the citizens would vote actively in the elections and emphasised that the Members of the European Parliament have strong opportunities to influence decision-making in the European Union.

The ministers also discussed the foreign political role of the EU. Stubb was of the opinion that the EU should claim a more significant role in the foreign policy, or otherwise it will be in a danger of ending up on a side-track of the arena of international relations. Stubb considered the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and appointment of a foreign minister for the EU as good mechanisms for strengthening the role of the EU. Both ministers underscored that also the MEPs of small member nations have opportunities to influence decision-making in the European Parliament. Foreign Minister Paet also commended his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and said that the discussions had created good foundations for future cooperation.

• Webcast of the press conference(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)