Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finland will contribute EUR 3 million to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help India, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Niger. Finland will help India with EUR 1 million and the other three countries with nearly EUR 500,000 each. The Finnish Red Cross will also provide material assistance.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó in Helsinki on Wednesday 5 May.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will chair the meeting of the Nordic Foreign Ministers on Monday 3 May 2021.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will chair an extraordinary meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 29 April 2021.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend the EU development ministers’ informal video conference on 29 April 2021.

On 27 April, Finland offered to provide India with material assistance to help the country in the extremely difficult COVID-19 crisis. Finland is prepared to send oxygen bottles to India via the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.

Due to the prolonged government session on spending limits, Minister Skinnari’s visit to Copenhagen will take place virtually. The scheduled meetings there will be held over remote connections.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Copenhagen on 26–27 April. The aim of the visit is to promote bilateral commercial and economic cooperation and to discuss other topical trade policy matters. A business delegation representing the wind power sector will participate in the visit virtually.

Adopted in June 2013, Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) will enter into force on 1 August 2021. It will introduce substantial changes to the right to submit applications to the European Court of Human Rights.

The main topics to be discussed at the April meeting of the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs are the situation in Ethiopia and Ukraine. Finland’s representative at the informal video conference will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The Ministers will also hold an informal exchange with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.