European Union
Finland will launch a new bilateral project in Nepal focusing in particular on the development of teacher education. The project will be implemented by the University of Helsinki's company HY+, which provides education and development services.
Information from the Austrian, Finnish, Slovenian and Swedish delegations, supported by the Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Slovak delegations.
The support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion was clearly reflected in the 2023 official development assistance spending (ODA) of Finland and many other EU Member States, according to data released by the OECD today. Ukraine was the largest recipient of Finland’s ODA for the second consecutive year.
President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb made his first visit to Brussels on 9-10 April. The purpose of the visit was to discuss current topical issues, security and defense policy and the situation in Ukraine.
Finland as part of the EU strongly condemns Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Finland will continue its unwavering support to Ukraine as long as needed. Since February 2022, Finland’s total assistance to Ukraine amounts to 2,9 billion euros. Read more about Finland's support.
The request for participation, instructions for responding and contact details regarding the competitive procedure are available for service providers in the HILMA official service for notices on public procurement in Finland. Service providers are requested to submit their responses by 2 May 2024.
Finland has introduced its Preparedness Union initiative to the European Union, proposing that the EU would develop the first a crisis preparedness strategy.
On 15 March, the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Coreper) discussed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The amended proposal for a Directive received a qualified majority of votes of the Member States in Coreper. The matter was previously discussed on 28 February. The European Parliament must now approve the content of the Directive.
EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 18 March. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.