Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Brussels on 9 October. The Minister will speak at a seminar entitled Europe and Africa: Neighbours with a shared future – Investing in people, which is organised by Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union together with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Finnish Government will grant Finnfund a loan of EUR 210 million for further investment in climate projects in developing countries and for strengthening the position of women and girls. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari made the decision about the loan, which is part of the Ministry’s development policy investments.

The Council reaffirmed its commitment to EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights by adopting, on October 7, supplementary negotiating directives aiming at thee swift resumption of negotiations with the Council of Europe.

In the Government’s budget proposal, EUR 1.256 billion is proposed for the Foreign Ministry’s main title of expenditure. This is EUR 120 million more than was allocated in the Budget for 2019. The growth is mainly due to appropriation increases in line with the Government Programme.

The XVII Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) Foreign Ministers' session will be held on 3 October in Umeå, Sweden. At the meeting, the two-year chairmanship of BEAC will be handed over from Sweden to Norway.

On 3 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Umeå, Sweden, to attend the EU Arctic Forum. The forum is co-organised by the European Commission and Sweden.

Minister Ville Skinnari will chair an informal lunch meeting of EU trade ministers in Brussels on 1 October and attend the Trade for Her conference on 30 September.

On 26 September, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) gave its judgment concerning Finland in the case of the return of an asylum seeker to Iraq.

Prime Minister Antti Rinne has appointed a Management Group for Finland Promotion Board for a term from 1 September 2019 to 31 December 2023.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania on 30 September–2 October. During the visit, Minister Haavisto will meet his counterparts and other political leaders and representatives of CSOs.