Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja: Europe’s competitiveness in the future must be based on fair labour markets

Peter Stenlund appointed Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

The 14th Ministerial Session of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) will be held in Tromsø, Norway, on 28-29 October. The Finnish delegation at the meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted 14.9 million euros in humanitarian assistance for people suffering from the world’s crises. Finland strives to help those in need where the distress is the greatest. A total of nearly 2.9 million euros in assistance is granted for victims of the Syrian crisis within the country and in neighbouring countries of Syria.

Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Nordic Cooperation Alexander Stubb and Minister of Defence Carl Haglund will participate, as representatives of the Finnish Government, in the Nordic Council Session and in sector-specific Nordic meetings on between 28 and 31 October in Oslo.

On 18 October 2013, EU and Canada reached a political agreement on concluding an ambitious free trade agreement. Negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU, its Members States and Canada have continued since their launch in 2009. Honing of the agreement details will continue before it can be given final approval.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will convene in Luxembourg on 21 October. Finland’s representative in the meeting will be Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The affairs on the meeting agenda include EU Eastern Partnership, Southern Neighbourhood, and Myanmar.

On Thursday 17 October, the President of the Republic appointed MP Pekka Haavisto as Member of Government and assigned him as Minister for International Development at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and responsible for matters under the mandate of the Prime Minister’s Office. On the same occasion, the President of the Republic released upon request Heidi Hautala from her responsibilities as Member of Government and Minister for International Development.

All human rights and fundamental freedoms apply equally offline and online and governmental measures should never undermine the realization of anyone’s human rights, stressed Foreign Minister Tuomioja at a conference on cyberspace i Seoul.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit South Korea and Japan on 16–19 October 2013.