Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) and their partners promote the objectives of Finland’s development cooperation with the help of funding granted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Ministry has awarded approximately EUR 19.4 million in government grants for Finnish CSOs’ development cooperation projects in 2025–2028.

At the presidential session on 28 June, the President of the Republic decided to appoint two new Ambassadors and one non-resident Ambassador.

Finland had decided to allocate development cooperation funds to support three new projects in Ukraine. Two Institutional Cooperation Instrument (ICI) projects will develop respectively vocational education and training and air quality monitoring, and a fund of the European Investment Bank (EIB) will support the rebuilding of infrastructure in Ukraine.

The Ukraine Country Programme is the largest of the OECD’s country programmes. The four-year programme, costing a total of EUR 16.5 million, supports Ukraine in developing its legislation and institutions and helps the country prepare for its prospective membership in the EU and the OECD.

On 26 June 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected Doctor of Laws, LL.M. Juha Lavapuro as judge of the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Finland, for a term of office to begin on 1 January 2025 at the latest. The Court has a total of 46 judg-es, a number equal to that of the High Contracting Parties to the Euro-pean Convention on Human Rights. One judge is elected with respect of each Contracting Party, and the judges serve in their individual capacity, independently and impartially.

The 14th EU sanctions package deploys significant new measures to prevent the circumvention and evasion of sanctions imposed on Russia. Among a slew of new measures the package addresses issues related to aviation and the shadow fleet, expands export bans, imposes additional restrictions on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) revenues, and increases the obligations of businesses to tackle sanctions circumvention. The list of individuals subject to asset freezes and travel bans will also be significantly extended.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on 24 June. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Government has approved the proposal for the Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy. The report assesses Finland’s foreign and security policy environment and defines Finland’s objectives and priorities for the next few years.

Nordic foreign ministers will convene in Stockholm from 19 to 20 June. State secretary Pasi Rajala will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson, who is responsible for matters related to Nordic cooperation, will attend a meeting of the Ministers for Nordic co-operation in Malmö, Sweden, on Tuesday 18 June.