News

In November, the European Commission issued some legislative proposals related to the union’s objectives for 2030 and the development of an Energy Union. The actual discussion of the initiatives is now beginning both in the EU’s Council of Ministers and in the European Parliament. However, one will still have to wait for a long time for these regulations to be completed.

Finland’s newest icebreaker Polaris is ready to enter service. Icebreaker Polaris is unique in many ways. It is the first icebreaker in the world capable of running on both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and ultra-low-sulphur diesel. Its total output of about 22 MW also makes it Finland’s most powerful icebreaker. Polaris is the most environmentally friendly diesel-electric icebreaker in the world.

Finland is a country of trees and never-ending forests. According to rough estimates, there are about ten trees per every person in the world in the Finnish forests. In cubic meters, the forest capacity in Finland has never been so large ever since known history of National Forest Inventories (NFI). Due to a history of almost hundred years of data collection, Finland has a vast storage of information of its forests.

EU Ministers for the Environment agreed to speed up the process for the ratification of Paris agreement during an extraordinary Environment Council meeting on 30 September 2016 in Brussels. In Finland the preparations of the government proposal for the national ratification of the Paris agreement are well underway.

On 18 March, EU leaders and the Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu agreed in Brussels on additional measures to be taken to stop the uncontrolled migration from Turkey to the EU Member States.

The meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government with Turkey in Brussels on 7 March discussed measures to manage the migratory flows. Turkey confirmed its commitment to accept the return of all irregular migrants coming to Greece who are not in need of international protection. The EU Member States, for their part, promised to accept one Syrian refugee for every Syrian readmitted by Turkey from Greece. Additional funding for assisting the refugees will be granted to Turkey.

On 18 February, the two-day meeting of the European Council in Brussels began with discussions on migration and the UK's relationship with the EU. Negotiations on the settlement for the UK will continue on the second day of the meeting.

Prime Minister Sipilä will participate in the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in London on 4 February together with over 30 other Heads of State or Government. The Conference is being hosted by the Heads of Government of the UK, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, and the UN Secretary General.

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä met Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in St Petersburg on 29 January. The meeting of the premiers focussed on topical bilateral relations, including matters related to trade and commerce and the economy. The situation in the Ukraine, the relations between the EU and Russia and the international situation in broader terms were also discussed during the meeting.

On 17 December, the two-day meeting of the European Council in Brussels began with discussions on migration and the UK's EU relation. The European Council stated that so far the measures to manage the migratory flows have been insufficient. It is indispensable to regain control over the external borders for the integrity of Schengen to be safeguarded.