Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finland submitted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) the combined 20th, 21st and 22nd periodic report on the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report covers the period from August 2007 to this autumn.

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen is bringing together key opinion-makers to discuss the current state of Europe and the world. The participants of the Presidential Forum to be organised on Thursday, 24 November will include Minister of Finance Jutta Urpilainen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala and Vice-President of the European Commission Olli Rehn.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit Egypt, Tunisia and Libya on 20–23 November. This will be his first trip to North Africa during the term of the present Government. The purpose of the visit is to get first-hand information about the situation in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya and to make known Finland’s support for reforms aiming at democracy and socially equitable economic development.

Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb gave a speech at the College of Europe in Bruges today, on 17 November. In his speech, Minister Stubb focused on the future of the European Union and the euro area.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will convene in Brussels on 14 November. Finland’s representative in the meeting will be Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The main topics of the meeting will include Afghanistan, Iran, EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and the latest situation in the EU’s southern neighbourhood and the Horn of Africa region.

Russia’s acceptance as a member of WTO, the World Trade Organization, is virtually assured. The present members of the WTO and Russia reached agreement on Russia’s membership in negotiations in Geneva.

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will attend the meeting of the ministers for development cooperation at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 14 November. The topics of the meeting include aid effectiveness, the situation in the Horn of Africa, the future of the EU development policy, and EU budget support.

The newly-appointed Foreign Minister of Denmark Villy Søvndal will meet Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on his visit to Finland on 10 November.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is seeking to achieve the savings required by the central government decisions on spending limits and continues to reduce its network of diplomatic missions.